Apologies
by TheTomFox
Summary: Jae and her friends reunite and go on a quest to wipe out the Templars once and for all. Jae wants revenge on the man who killed her entire family. In the present day, three friends uncover Abstergo plots with the help of someone familiar and fight to survive as the world hunts them down. Sequel to Grief Consumes All.
1. Awakening

**Chapter 1 – Awakening**

The three participants in Abstergo's ancestral study slowly sat up from their personal animus, clutching their heads and groaning. They had seen more crazy shit in a matter of days than most people see in a lifetime. They had seen secret orders, murders, betrayals and lots of death. It was made worse by the fact that the animus made them re-live the memories of their ancestors, so it had been as if it had been them that had done the killing. As they opened their own eyes for the first time in quite a while, there vision was blurry and images of what they had seen in the past flew across their vision. They had to blink several times for their vision to return to normal. But after all they'd seen, after all they'd witnessed, nothing seemed normal anymore. Their whole vision of life had changed. Were there still secret orders pulling the strings of the world today? What became of the mysterious Assassins and Templars? Their time in the past had given them more questions than answers. Answers they were keen to get but were oblivious to the fact that the answers they sought were directly in front of them.

* * *

The three participants were all very different people indeed. Tom was an English free-runner with a habit of talking himself into and out of trouble. Chad (who shared the name of his ancestor) had spent many years as an animator with dreams of owning his own forge and becoming a blacksmith, one day. Will (who also shared the name of his ancestor) had spent his life in the armed forces, hoping to earn as many promotions as possible to make his parents proud. Chad and Will were 27 and 29 respectively, Tom was only 18 years old. Tom was about five-foot-nine, skinny build with dark brown hair and green eyes. Chad was exactly six-foot, slightly heavier built than Tom, with brown hair and brown eyes and he wore glasses. Will was the heaviest built of the three, with a large muscular body, a height around six-foot-two, brown eyes and black hair. Each of the three of them were dynamically different from the other two, but all had one thing in common: They had been specifically selected by the multi-national company Abstergo. They had been told that they had been randomly selected as part of an ancestral discovery program. They had been told wrong. Abstergo wanted them for their past. The Templars, under the disguise of Abstergo Industries and Abstergo Entertainment, were searching the past for precursor artefacts and they believed that when these three men's pasts linked, they encountered one such object. All they had to do was follow it throughout history to learn its current location so they could retrieve it. They were close to tracing this one, and the three participants were losing their usefulness. Soon they were going to have to 'disappear.' They couldn't be allowed back into the world with the knowledge they now possessed. For now, the man charged with observing and recording their sessions asked them a few questions to ensure they health is not a risk, before sending them to the elevator. They would then be escorted up to a hotel owned by Abstergo where they would be monitored until their next session in the animus. The man who monitored them had fair skin, long but neat black hair, a muscular yet slim build and he often wore black trousers and a shirt under his white lab coat. Overall, he looked very smart and profession, the only thing that betrayed his business-like appearance was a horrible tattoo that covered his arm, but the long sleeves covered most of it, with the exception of his wrist and the palm of his hand which was left exposed. It mattered little though. He was a loyal and hard-working employee. He had his uses. His name tag read 'Tyler Jay Mason.'

* * *

Kaiden Matthews was another lab worker in Abstergo, Montreal. He had only been working there for a few weeks and was clueless about the Assassins and Templars, but he knew about how the animus worked and he was part of the team assigned to monitor the three participants' health throughout the program Abstergo was providing them. As far as he knew, it was just Abstergo giving random people the opportunity to explore their ancestry, much like Tom, Chad and Will thought. He was not the evil guy that the Assassins thought every person who worked for Abstergo was. He was just a regular everyday guy. Yet soon, he would meet the same fate as the Templars.

* * *

Before the program was launched and they all met at Heathrow airport, England, for the private jet ride to Montreal, the three of them had never met before. Despite being completely different, the three had a lot of time on their hands while flying and so Tom, Chad and Will became close friends. When they arrived at the Abstergo facility in Montreal and were given a large hotel room to share on-site, they became even closer. You could even call them best friends at this point. They were allowed unlimited access to the facility's gym, which all three of them took advantage of. Will would always hit the bench-press and the other weights, Chad would use the treadmills and Tom would climb the rock-climbing wall with no harness or be bouncing around the large gym, climbing anything and everything. As they had more and more animus sessions, they found that they began taking on the traits of their ancestors. Will, for example, began to grow even stronger and Tom found that his free running technique began to improve. He also became fond of scaling the walls and hiding in the shadows on the ceiling, such as sitting on the hanging ceiling lights, out of view of the cameras. After several days of this, Abstergo sent in a couple of guards to keep an eye on them as well as the cameras, but Tom always found a way to lose them and hide in shadows somewhere. He would hide out of sight of the cameras and the guards, but he would keep a close eye on their movements every day until he could predict their movements and search patterns. Tom was often in trouble with the Abstergo staff, but he cared little. Chad, on the other hand became interested in the weaponry the guards were carrying. He didn't question why they needed them, he only cared about the statistics of each weapon. He also found that the guards were un-intentionally hilarious. Both were ironically Russian, but one of them never knew when to shut up and the other one only said "Da" with a thick Russian accent.

* * *

After their last animus session, the three of them were given some time off to rest and recuperate while engineers did some maintenance work on each of their animus. In truth, the Templars behind Abstergo were analysing the data they had recovered so far in search of the precursor object, or at the very least some clues to its location. They knew that it was somehow connected to Jason, but the last data they had on him was that he had killed his family's killer and himself by jumping off a cliff. Without a descendant, they wouldn't know any more information about him. Unfortunately, despite the Abstergo's vast database, they couldn't locate anyone who descended from Jason. They would have no choice in continuing to get the three participants to continue their work in the animus in hopes of finding the final resting place of Jason and his precursor object. They had already dispatched Sigma team, led by Otso Berg to the cliff which he jumped off, but so far they had had no luck. They were constantly assured though, that Otso Berg did not approve of Sigma Team's skills being 'wasted on a mundane assignment.' For now, though, he was ordered to defend the excavation site from any possible Assassin attacks should they catch wind of Abstergo's operations in that area.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Montreal, Tyler Mason sat in a conference room, discussing the project's progress to the board of directors there.

"So as I said before, we're making good progress on the search and we believe we'll locate it soon." He told them.

"I've heard that Mr. Berg has had no luck thus far at the site you indicated." One director questioned him.

"That is true," Tyler replied nervously. "But we are making progress. We believe that perhaps in a few more sessions time, we'll have an exact location."

"Good." He replied, standing up. The other board members also rose from their chairs and followed him out of the room. Tyler lingered in the conference room for a moment before leaving. They were getting dangerously close to locating the artefact.

* * *

Today was a Saturday. It was a glorious Saturday morning with a clear blue sky, the sun shining high and birds chirping as they flew by. Tired, Tom was lay on his bed reading a book. He'd always liked reading books. He thought it was amazing how with just a few lines of words, you could forget about your troubles and disappear to a completely new and different world. It was inspiring. He thought that reading a good book was by far a better way of forgetting your worries than drinking a bottle of alcohol. In contrast, Chad sat watching television in the opposite room, drinking a bottle of alcohol. He found it amazing that the more you drank, the better you felt and all your worries went numb. The only worry he had was that he'd reach the bottom of the bottle and not have another bottle ready. He wouldn't label himself as alcoholic, just fond of drinking. Tom and Will never complained. Chad proved to be rather entertaining when he was drunk. Will, as everyone expected, had gotten up early to go to the gym and work out. Abstergo had people monitor the cameras in shifts because it was rare that Will slept, and the Abstergo staff couldn't compete with his late nights and early mornings. On this particular morning, Will was lifting weights while chatting casually with the Russian guards. The Russian guards tried their best to reply back as they yawned and wiped sleep from their eyes.

"And so I told him-" Will said as he was cut off by one of the guards.

"Please! Be quiet! We're still waking up here!" the guard said.

"Da." Agreed the other.

"Alright, Jeez… Don't get your underwear in a bunch…" Will replied, a little bit deflated.

"Da." Said one guard.

Later in the morning, Will sat relaxing in a steam room, Chad played video games and watched anime at the same time and Tom went swimming in the pool complex. Tom had a good set of lungs and would swim entire laps underwater, as he was so fond of doing. The Russian guards had left Will to be monitored by the cameras and instead kept a watchful eye on Tom. He wasn't as hype-active as will, or as loud-mouthed, but he was mischievous and a trouble maker. For now, though, he seemed rather docile and wasn't paying any attention to the guards. He just spent his time swimming smoothly and his guards became so bored that they began talking to each other, without paying any attention to him. Tom made a mental note of that fact. The guards' conversation was basically one guard making a point and the other agreeing with a hearty "Da."

At around noon, the three subjects sat at a large table in an empty cafeteria and had their lunchtime meal. Will had a healthy omelette with red onion and a glass of orange juice. Chad had a hearty Full-English breakfast for lunch with four different kinds of meat, grilled tomatoes, hash browns, fried bread, baked beans, mushrooms and three fried eggs. People often asked Chad how he could life his lifestyle and not be overweight. He always replied with one word. 'Reasons.' Tom had a cup of coffee and a ham and lettuce sandwich. Chad and Will spoke (or yelled) at one another, spraying small chunks of food everywhere, while Tom sat eating and drinking in silence. Ever since he'd started using the Animus, he'd spoken to other people less and less. Now, it was only small bits of conversation that stopped him from being classed as a mute.

After their meal, each went back to doing something recreational. Will went back to the gym for an hour or two before heading for the showers, Tom explored the facility for something to climb with the two Russian guards in tow, and Chad joined Will in the gym and ran on the treadmills. He'd plugged his IPod into the treadmill's console and played his music blasting out of the built in speakers. Heavy metal music could be heard across half the building. Tom was also listening to heavy metal, but with his earphones in so as not to disturb anyone else. After this, they all returned to their rooms to relax for the day with their evening meals being brought up to their rooms later in the evening. When they'd gone to their rooms, the two Russian guards also took the opportunity to retire to their rooms to relax, hoping to catch some quick shut-eye. They knew in a few hours, Will would be hitting the gym again.

* * *

While this happened, all throughout the day, engineers poured over the Animus that they were using: fixing, testing and calibrating. They had to make sure everything was set up perfectly for the subjects in their next Animus session. They were drawing ever closer to discovering the artefact they were looking for. They couldn't afford to give up now.

* * *

Tyler sat in a security office, watching old footage of the three subjects through the security cameras scattered about the complex. It was interesting to watch how the three of them changed as they spent more sessions in the Animus. Each developed small changes in their personality or their work ethic. To tell the truth, they reminded Tyler of old friends. He smiled affectionately, like a father proud of his sons as Will beat the Russian guards for strength, Tom slipped out of view of the cameras once more and Chad… Well, Chad was Chad. For the first time in a long while, a great chuckle escaped his lips as he watched on, proud of the three skilled subjects.


	2. Back to the Animus

**Chapter 2 – Back to the Animus**

The next day, Sunday, the engineers had finished the maintenance and service work and Tyler was back in the room where the magic happened, awaiting the arrival of the test subjects. Tom walked in first, eager with lots of energy. He was always punctual. Will strolled in a few moments later, wide awake with minimal sleep. Half an hour later, Chad flopped into the room, late and half awake. His hair was a mess, he still had sleep in his eyes and it seemed his body hadn't full woken up yet either.

"Trouble with your alarm clock?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, it went off." Chad yawned.

Tyler rolled his eyes and suppressed a grin as he went over to a console to make the final set up for Chad's Animus. Tom and Will were sat on their Animi (or Animuses?) waiting for Chad to arrive so they could begin. Chad attempted a weak smile as an apology, then he had another large yawn. After a few moments and the press of a few buttons, Chad's Animus was ready to be used. Tom and Will swivelled around and got into a lying position while Chad sat down on his Animus before doing the same. As they lay down, a glass visor slid over their head and a heads-up display was projected onto it. First, an image of their brain was displayed, rotating. Then a coil of DNA was shown, which then unravelled to show a selection of genetic memories in their DNA. They blinked one. Twice. Their vision blurred and faded as they escaped to the past.

* * *

With a heavy heart, she mounted the chair in the centre of her room made ready to claim her own life with the rope around her neck. Tears cascaded down her cheeks. All she heard before she jumped from the chair was the 'snick' of a hidden blade. With no resistance, she fell to the ground. She was genuinely surprised and she wondered what went wrong. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't think twice when a hand offered itself to help her up. She took it and as she stood, she suddenly realised. She wheeled around and was face to face with the grinning faces of Chad and Will. Overwhelmed, she charged at them like a raging bull and caught them both in a massive hug. Even more tears flowed from her now. She couldn't stop them from falling. Though now, they were tears of joy. She had someone left after all.

"Don't worry." Chad said, stroking her hair softly. "We won't tell anyone what you tried to do. Now wipe away your tears little one, you've still got us."

She nuzzled his shoulder and her body shook with emotion. But she tried her hardest and the tears slowed, before they stopped altogether. The three hugged for several minutes before they broke contact and all sat down. It was story time.

"How? How did you live?" Jae asked, as her vision blurred and tears threatened to beat her again.

"It was fairly easy." Said Will. "I just threw down a smoke bomb as they fired at me and I dived under the Templar I'd just killed, using him as cover. Then, before the smoke cleared, I used a small hatch to escape into the underground. Before they thought to look and found the hatch, I was long gone."

"And you? Master Chad?" Jae questioned, turning her attention to Chad.

"Really?" Chad asked. "Did you really think that arsehole Kyle could kill me? While his neck had a quick date with the cobblestone streets, I landed in a haystack, winded and wounded from my fight with him, but generally no worse for wear."

Once more, the trio hugged and Chad affectionately wiped away her tears with a cloth in his pocket and took her chin into his hand and stared deep into her eyes.

"You'll be okay, little cub." He said.

* * *

Chad ordered a wash basin to be taken to her room and when it arrived, he and Will gave Jae some privacy while she washed the dirt, tears and pain away. When she emerged, night was approaching and candles had been lit in her room and fresh robes were laid out neatly on her bed. Gratefully, she took them and changed into them. Feeling refreshed, she walked to her door, heading for the hall where they'd have their meals. When she opened the door, she encountered a still hot plate of food outside her door with a note from Chad.

 _Little cub,_

 _You've been through a lot recently. I've had this meal sent to you in case you don't feel up to facing the others just yet. Feel free to take it down to the hall if I'm wrong. We're all here for you._

 _Master Chad_

More tears threatened her. She took the plate and retreated back to her room. She ate alone in her room, but the silence was strangely comforting, and she didn't feel as alone as she'd thought she would. In truth, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Normal people would have just ignored the sensation, but Jae was a trained Assassin and she had learned to trust her instincts. Cautiously, she made her way to the only window her room, treading lightly to avoid the floorboards creaking beneath her and giving her away. She slid close to the window and in one swift, calculated movement, she opened the windows and scanned the area outside. Sat on a tree branch just outside her window was an owl. It turned to look at her, before it hooted and flew away. She must have been paranoid. She closed the windows again and sat back down on her bed. She went back to enjoying her meal.

* * *

The next morning rolled around and Jae sat up and yawned in her bed. The remnants of her meal from the previous meal had been taken away and fresh clothes for the day were laid out across from wear she lay. The sun was shining brightly with warm rays flooding through the open window. She slid groggily out of bed and washed her face and the sleep out of her eyes in a fresh wash basin that had been set out for her before drying her face on a nearby cloth. The cold water shocked her wide awake, which was a feeling she'd grown used to at her time with the Assassins and maybe she even enjoyed it slightly. She changed into the clothes and walked down the empty hallways to the grand hall for breakfast. When she arrived at the hall, she found it mostly empty, with the exception of a few assassins scattered across the tables. All looked exhausted. The most populated table had Chad, Will, Horatio and Layla sat on it, talking in hushed voices and wolfing down food. As Jae made her way over to them, Chad turned and saw her. He beckoned her over excitedly. He was happy to see her again, despite only seeing her the afternoon before. She sat down to see that Chad had already filled a plate of food for her with another plate on top to keep it warm. She thanked him and tucked in gratefully. The plate was no less than a mountain of food, but it was a mountain she greedily conquered. Chad seemed genuinely impressed. No-one spoke while she ate, waiting patiently for her to finish. When she placed the knife and fork on the now empty plate, Chad stood and took it away to be washed and slid her a glass of water. When he returned a few minutes later, the table became alive with chatter again.

"Jae," Chad said, as he sat down in his chair "I know recent events have been hard on you, but you'll be happy to know we've got the Templars here on the ropes. It won't be long before we push them off the Americas entirely."

Jae took a long, slow sip of her water and paused before saying anything, the mood took a dark turn.

"That's not good enough." She said, the darkness of her words and the calmness of her voice as she said them shocking them all. "I won't stop until the Templars are completely wiped out… everywhere."

Chad was the first to recover.

"Jae, understand, that's no small undertaking. It wouldn't take a lifetime to do such a thing."

"Then we better get started right away then, hadn't we?"

The group nodded in silent agreement. And so the five assassins made plans for the extermination of the Templar Order.

* * *

Later in the morning, those same five assassins were rushing around the mansion, packing belongings and supplies for the great task ahead. Layla in particular was flushed red with effort due to the wounds she had accumulated during the mansion assault which still hadn't healed yet. She was beginning to struggle on one run so she had to stop, sit down and take a minute to catch her breath. Horatio saw her struggling and rushed over to help her out. The two had been dating for several weeks now and were happy being together, despite constant teasing from Chad. He may have matured around Jae, but he was still good old immature Chad around others. His favourite nickname for the young couple was 'toothpick' in reference to Layla's rapier. On this occasion, Horatio sat down next to Layla and hugged her in his arms. She nuzzled into his chest. At this precise moment, Chad happened to walk down the hallway and saw the pair. He saw Horatio comforting Layla who was flushed red and he couldn't resist making a joke.

"Hey Toothpick, what's wrong? Did Toothpick see someone else's toothpick?"

Horatio couldn't help but bite back.

"Actually, it's more like a broadsword." He retorted.

Chad laughed out loud while Layla blushed. She couldn't believe the guys were taking about something like that in front of her. Chad continued on his way down the hallway, still laughing.

* * *

Ernie Edwards was cramped in a small study room all day every day. Effectively being placed in command of the American rite of the Assassins, he had a lot of work to do and a lot of studying. It was up to him to re-form the Assassins here, which was no small undertaking. To be honest, he was tired of the same room, the same oak desk and the same books, day in, day out. The constant stream of reports and other paper work. All the vital decisions that rested on his head. He thought he could manage to reform the Assassins here with the help of his friends, Chad and Will, but Chad had made a surprise visit to his office moments ago and informed him that they were leaving. That certainly made things difficult. He understood what they were doing and why, but it didn't make his job any easier. Now he stared at the same sheet of parchment that he had been staring at for the past half an hour. He pondered on the choices of others, how things could be different now if some things changed in the past, how he was going to repair a broken order. He set the parchment down and rose from his chair. He walked behind his chair and stared out of the floor to ceiling window. He watching a group of children in the streets beyond the wall of the mansion, playing with swords that were little more than sticks. It was at this moment that he realised that Assassin Mentor or not, he wasn't the kind of person to sit behind a desk all day. He was going back to where he started: the streets. He walked back and across the room and left, plucking his coat from his chair as he passed. He stepped outside into the winter chill and watched with interest as his breathe steamed in front of him. He cupped his hands and blew warm air into them at keep his hands from freezing. He made his way through the courtyard of the mansion to the gate, where he looked out and saw the two children, playing. The first flakes of snow began to fall as he approached them.

"Hey," he said and he crouched near them. "Have you two ever heard of Assassins?"

* * *

Preparations were nearly complete. Two carts were full of supplies and equipment, with a third cart ready to transport five Assassins. The five Assassins were now walking around the mansion, doing last minute checks and making sure they hadn't missed anything essential. Layla was going room to room, checking for anything. As she opened Horatio's room door, she was shocked to find him changing with his back to the door. Hastily, she shut the door but she did so silently. Her face burnt as red as blood in embarrassment.

'What do you know?' she thought. 'He was right. It _is_ more like a broadsword…'

* * *

Across the mansion, by the waiting carts, a table was laid out with all of Jae's weapons spread across it. All of them had just been freshly oiled and cleaned. Jae slid the flintlock pistols into the twin holsters at her waist, the claymore sword into the sheathe on her back, the rope darts onto the hooks on her belt, the throwing knives into their hidden compartment over her shoulder, the smoke bomb into their pouch on the back of her belt, a small dagger into a sheathe on her belt and finally she slid her hidden blade bracers over her hands and tied them tightly to her wrist. She flexed one hand and the blade engaged with a barely audible *snick* before she flexed her hand again and the blade slid back. Chad was sat on a barrel, watching her, amused.

"Something interested you?" Jae asked flatly, without taking her eyes off her bracer.

"Looks like someone's ready to go to war." Chad smiled back.

Jae turned to him angrily, fire flaring in her eyes. "They took all of my family away from me, so I won't stop until every last one of those bastards lie dead!" She yelled.

"Hush, little cub." Chad said, rushing over and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We'll get them all. I promise you."

Jae looked away from him, ashamed that she had gotten so angry so quickly. Chad noticed that she couldn't meet his eyes and pulled her into a soft hug. Jae rested her head on his shoulder and tears began to fall again. Chad hushed her and rubbed her back like a caring parent.

"It's ok." He whispered in her ear. "You look prepared to take them all on yourself."

He chuckled and Jae couldn't help but laugh. Chad had changed. He was now a caring loving Assassin, much like the father that Jae never had the pleasure of growing up with.

"Not quite." Jae whispered back. "I could still hear the blade engage. It should be silent."

The two broke the hug and separated with a comforting smile passing between them as a voice flew down the path towards them.

"Hey!" came the voice. "Don't leave without me! I want to tag along."

Down the path, walking towards them with a large grin on their face was a familiar figure.


	3. The Legend Lives On

**Chapter 3 – The Legend Lives On**

At Abstergo, the lab of technicians and the board of directors were furious at what they saw. What the test subjects were seeing should have been impossible. It just shouldn't have been possible. But the genetic memories locked in their DNA doesn't lie. They were experiencing the truth, unmolested by wild lies that was nowadays called fact. This was raw history as it actually happened. All the events that they re-lived were truth. But the Abstergo staff couldn't believe their eyes.

* * *

Horatio approached the courtyard wearing fresh, clean robes. Will was watching as Ernie spoke with two small children outside the mansion, recruiting the next generation of Assassins. Layla was tearing a hay dummy target to shreds with the tip of her rapier. Neat cuts lined the hessian sack that covered the dummy, with hay spilling from each cut. She had effectively torn her enemy apart at the seams. If the target were real, they would have suffered a lot of blood loss by now caused by all of the neat cuts that consumed it. As Layla noticed Horatio approaching, she couldn't help but remember what she saw, and she blushed crimson again. This did confuse the oblivious Horatio, but she refused to tell him what had made her this way. Will approached the pair and then the trio made their way to the carts, to leave.

When the walked through the mansion and out of the front door, they encountered two Assassins already seated in the cart, ready to leave, with Jae climbing in after them. Will wasn't exactly the best at maths, but he knew there should only be two Assassins, not three. So you could imagine his surprised when he saw Chad, Jae and a man he never thought he'd see again, seated in the cart, waiting. Layla and Horatio also recognised the figure and grins spread like wildfire across the six Assassins' faces.

* * *

The Assassins led the carts north, leaving New York heading for Boston, where the Templars seemed to have concentrated their influence. The Assassin civil war had left the Assassins weak and spread thin, so when the Templars played their hand and seized Boston, they encountered little resistance, and what small numbers of Assassins were stationed there were quickly wiped out. Templar agents killed any Assassins trying to get in, out or were passing through Boston, leaving the weakened Assassins blind to their plans for the city. This made it a clear target for the Assassins who were now on the war path. The chance to wipe out resurgent Templars was simply too good to pass up. Will had obvious cut off the head of the snake when he gambled his life to wipe out the Templar hierarchy, but the Templar order was a Hydra, and if you cut off one head, two more grew back. The slim man had brought his own leadership to the order almost immediately, suggesting that he was already planning to perform a coup attempt had the older Templars survived. The Assassins had actually made his job easier. Now the Templars were more powerful than before, and their leadership was stronger. The Templars had recruited mercenaries, hired local gangs and even bribed several guards into their service to help them maintain control over the city, spread their influence, and form their own private army. Getting in was the Assassins first problem. Then moving around undetected and gathering information on the Templars within the city was going to be their next problem. If they were caught, they could be killed. Or the Templars could go to ground, and the Assassins might never be able to dig them up again. The Assassins needed to keep their noses to the ground and their eyes alert if they wanted to liberate this city from Templar influence.

The six Assassins knew that infiltration into Boston through Southgate Fort to the south was nearly suicidal, infiltrating via a boat to the docks was even more so. So the Assassins decided to go with the worse of the two options. The decided to infiltrate the docks. Their plan was a relatively simple one. The hired a mercenary ship, moved all of their supplies and equipment on-board, then engaged an American schooner, transferred their supplies to the schooner, then set off to Boston in the schooner as the mercenaries set off away from the Assassins, looking for more contracts to take. As the Assassins sailed the schooner to the docks of Boston, they changed into the uniforms of the American sailors and soldiers, keeping their Assassin robes on underneath. Only Jae and Layla didn't change into the uniforms. They put on civilian clothes that left little to the imagination. They didn't carry out any repairs on the ship. The damage from the engagement with the mercenaries was mostly aesthetics and way crucial for their cover story. As the schooner limped into port, guards rushed over to the dock it was approaching and threw their muskets aside and helped to tie the ship to the mooring. A frustrated looking Will, posing as the captain of the vessel and gave many thanks to the soldiers who helped them. He spun a tale of how they had been set upon by pirates as they traversed the coast and the last encounter dealt them heavy damage. The guards bought the ruse and felt genuinely empathetic for him and his crew. It seemed only six people survived the clashes and made it here to port. The leader of the group of guards asked the captain to assemble all survivors on the dock, and Will complied.

The leader paced down the line of the six people, assessing each in turn.

"These men sailed with you?" he asked Will, as he gestured at Chad and Horatio.

"Correct." Answered Will.

"And this one?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at a native American.

"Cheap labour." Will replied, giving a large, toothy grin. "Idiot can't speak and he'll follow any orders you give."

"Very well. And these two?" The leader pointed at Jae and Layla, who looked at their toes timidly.

"Ah. Erm…" Stuttered Will nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "That's a… sensitive matter… Entertainment for the troops, if you will."

"Oh. I see." Said the leader, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. He cupped Jae's chin in his hand and examined her face. He locks of hair fell softly around her shoulders and her face was plastered in beautiful make-up, enhancing her radiant beauty. Her eyelashes were long and fluttered as she blushed. Her lips were bright pink and seemed to quiver in an attractive way as she breathed. But it wasn't just her face that the leader admired. Her clothes left little to the imagination.

"I like this one." The leader said to Will. "How much do you want for her?"

Chad hated the idea of the girls dressing this way, but he understood it was essential to getting in the city. Now, as he stood in line, his fists clenched at his sides.

"I'm sorry, sir, but she's not for sale." Will said, barely suppressing his own anger.

"That's a shame." The leader said, still admiring her body. "I would have paid much for her. Does two thousand gold sound good to you?"

Two thousand gold was a lot of money to offer, but Will knew he had to refuse for the sake of Jae, even if it made the guards suspicious at refusing such a generous offer.

"I'm sorry, sir." He repeated. "We cannot sell her."

The leader was getting frustrated at being denied his prize, but he conceded nonetheless.

"Very well, I understand why you'd want to keep her. If she performs as good as she looks, you've got a good one. You may leave." He said, sneaking one final look at Jae as the group walked away, down the docks to the city.

When they ducked into a dark side alley, the group changed into their Assassin robes. Jae shuddered at the thoughts of what must have been going through that man's mind when he 'inspected' her. Chad tried to comfort her, but she shook him aside, explaining that she knew it was for the good of the mission, and that she just wanted to put it behind her and forget about it. The native American joining them offered his comfort in thought as well, despite what Jae said. Jason could be persistent like that.

* * *

Kevin Spalding spent the rest of the day thinking about that girl over at the docks. She was entrancing. As he made his way over to his favourite tavern at the end of his day and he passed lines of girls begging to sell their bodies, for the first time since he found this place, he ignored them. None of them compared to the beauty of the girl. He thought about her as he drank his flagon of ale. Each time he saw the bottom of the flagon, his fantasies became more and more lewd. By the end of the night, he was practically running everything he wanted to do _to_ and _with_ her in his mind at once. As he made his way stumbling home, drunk out of his mind, he failed to notice the emptiness of the street. It was now late night, running into the early hours of the morning, but usually, the girls at the side of the street would only leave as dawn rolled over the city. Now, however, they were all gone. The street was silent. Not even a rat scurried across the street. It was completely empty. A cold winter chill blew through the street, sending a shiver straight to his spine. He shrugged and pulled his coat tighter around him, trying to hold in his heat. He never knew what made him do it, but he looked up and the rooftops above him. He saw nothing. But went his eyes were returning to the street in front of him, he saw a movement in the corner of his eye. At that moment, a lightning strike hit out of nowhere, and the great shadow of a person was cast along the wall to his left. He looked to the rooftop on his right and saw a figure standing there, watching him, waiting. Kevin was startled and began running in the other direction. He was heavily drunk though, and stumbled everywhere, sliding on small patches of ice that littered the streets. He cast a cautious glance back over his shoulder as he slipped and fell, and saw the figure now standing still in the middle of the street, exactly where Kevin had been when he'd first seen the figure. Kevin yelled and set off running away again. Then the figure was in front of him, blocking off a small alleyway. Kevin screamed once more and set off back the way he'd came. He never saw the figure move. He only saw the figure, then he didn't. It didn't occur to him that the figure was _herding_ him, guiding him to a specific location. Eventually, when he thought he'd lost the figure who was hounding him, he dived down a dark, narrow alleyway. He stumbled blindly down the alley, with arms extended so his hands could feel both walls. He made his way down until, to his horror, his hands followed the wall and they met each other. He had walked straight into a dead end! He wheeled around as another flash of lightning gave him vision for a few seconds. The figure was now at the end of the alley, blocking his escape. Another lightning strike flashed and the figure was now halfway between him and the exit. Kevin curled into a ball and cried as his fate was sealed.

* * *

The following morning, Kevin was found hanging from the sign of the tavern he left the night before, his body cut to shreds and bleeding everywhere. His mutilated body a message for all of Boston to see.

Clearly, this was not the work of an Assassin. It was more likely the work of some feral beast. Either way, the Templars were suspicious but were definitely not aware of the Assassins presence… yet. The six Assassins had chanced upon it in the morning. Jae, for one, was glad to see the man dead after the events of the day before, but this fate was horrifying. All of them focused on the body hanging from the tavern's sign. All of them with the exception of Jason. He scanned the rooftops from their place on the ground. When he saw what he was looking for. He grinned. Jae couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, much like that night back at the mansion. She turned to speak to the others but stopped herself when she saw Jason looking a nearby rooftop. She followed his gaze and saw nothing out of the ordinary on the rooftop. At that moment, his smile faded and he acted as though nothing had happened. To Jae, it was obvious that something was off. For now, she let it slide. She'd question him later, somewhere more private.

* * *

Everyone at Abstergo was going crazy. They simply couldn't believe that Jason had survived that fall. It was impossible. They had recalled Otso Berg and Sigma Team back to the facility and showed him some of the footage of Jason's fall and then when the Assassins encountered him again. It shouldn't have been impossible. He would never admit it, but even Otso Berg, the legendary Assassin-hunter, was surprised. This made this… interesting.


	4. Training

**Chapter 4 – Training**

Tom had to blink several times as his vision returned. He sensed the visor moving out of the way more than he saw it. At first, he had become distressed when he was first removed from the Animus with blurred vision, but now he knew that his vision would quickly return and he'd grown used to it. When he was certain that the visor was out of the way, he sat up and rubbed his forehead. Nearby, Chad and Will were doing the same. The man in the white lab coat who had been monitoring them, Tyler, offered Tom his hand and helped him to his feet, ready to catch him should he fall. Tom was off-balance and unsteady, but he didn't fall.

"Why are we jumping out?" Tom asked, groggily.

"A little side experiment." Tyler replied.

He did a few quick checks on Tom and the other two, as he always did, before he requested that they follow him. He led them down a series of hallways, some familiar, others not. Eventually, they arrived at a gym. Not the gym that they used, but one slightly smaller with slightly fewer pieces of exercise equipment. It still had rock climbing walls though, so Tom was happy with this place. At the centre of the gym, a space had been cleared to make way for a table, with a series of items laid out across it. As the three test subjects approached the table, they realised that those items were in fact lots of small weapons. Almost every type of melee weapon, from modern ones to weapons of old, were scattered on the table. On one side laid a broad selection of knives and daggers of all kinds and types, from butcher's knives to stiletto daggers to kitchen knives to flick knives. Next to the assortment of knives and daggers lay a small manner of hatchets and throwing knives. Across the table was a stand holding a series of Samurai swords getting smaller as the got closer to the bottom of the rack. Each sword on the rack had its own name. Tom, Chad and Will admired the grand selection of weaponry throughout the ages.

"Pick one." Tyler said, snapping them out of their daze.

They all whipped around to face him, confused. Calmly, he repeated himself. Will was the first to decide, reaching across the table to pick up some finely crafted brass knuckles. Chad pondered over the different Samurai swords until settling for a Wakizashi, a sword with a blade slightly smaller than a katana, and move manoeuvrable, able to be wielded one-handed. Tom wanted a knife or dagger of some kind and was spoilt for choice. After about five minutes of pacing up and down the table, looking at each weapon in turn. Finally, he decided and, with a slight nod of his head to confirm it to himself, he picked up the Kukri knife, its boomerang-shaped blade intriguing him.

"Good." Said Tyler finally. "Stay here." He ordered.

After several moments, he appeared on the level above them in an observation platform with layers of bulletproof glass separating them.

"In this experiment," Tyler began over the intercom as a group of Abstergo guards walked into the room with the three test subjects, "You will be attacked by these professionally trained, Abstergo guards. You'll goal is to try to remain conscious. You'll noticed that any blade you have is blunt, just so you don't kill any of them. They are expensive, after all. They are equipped with tasers and retractable batons. And with that, good luck!"

His voice stopped coming from the intercom and the guards charged forwards with their batons, the design similar to the retractable baton of Aiden Pierce from Watch Dogs. Chad and Tom ran back slightly while Will stood his ground and delivered a knock-out punch to the guard charging at him. This made the other guards think twice about rushing towards him and they approached more cautiously. Chad spun around and brought his Wakizashi sword around to bear, sweeping it around as he spun on his heel and taking the guard chasing him clean off his feet. It was a clumsy manoeuvre, but it worked. Tom sprinted towards one of the rock climbing wall with a guard in hot pursuit. Tom was running so fast that he ran several paces vertically up the wall, before leaping backwards and flipping over to land on his feet, over the dazzled guard. The guard was now squarely between Tom and the wall and Tom delivered a brutal kick to the man's head, making it snap back and collide with the wall, knocking the guard unconscious. Another guard approached and Tom ducked under his wild baton swing, and dished out a vicious punch to the gut in return. As the guard bent over, Tom grabbed him by the calf and, lifting him clean off his feet, slammed the man's back onto the ground using his calf to lift him. Tom punched him in the back of the knee to disable the guard for the rest of the fight. Across the room, Chad was furiously fending off blows from multiple guards and Will had assumed a boxer's stance, his brass knuckles gleaming menacingly in the light. Tom watched as one guard brought his baton down from behind Will and Will was forced down to his knees from the blow. Will raised his hands to protect the back of his head but the blows rained down on him from all angles. Chad now had his back to the wall, with several blows breaking through his defences, causing some bleeding from his broken lip. Tom knew that he couldn't help them both at once, and he was useless to them if he was knocked out, so he picked up one of the unconscious guard's tasers and did the thing he did best: He scaled the rock walls and leapt backwards onto a hanging light fitting. Disappearing into the shadows, no-one saw him and when the guards deemed that Will and Chad had been significantly bludgeoned, they turned their attention to trying to locate the last remaining subject.

* * *

Tyler had watched everything unfold and had seen how Chad and Will's valiant defences had been broken. But Tom… Tom was doing well. Tyler decided to even the odds a bit and see if Tom took advantage of the opportunity it presented.

* * *

As one, all the lights in the room went off, and darkness covered the gym. Tom dropped from a light fitting and landed on the back of a guard and driving the wind out of him as he went down with a muted 'oof' with Tom crouched on his back. Tom advanced and one by one, snuck up on the confused and disorientated guards, knocking each one unconscious in turn. When the power automatically reconnected and the light flickered back on, Tom and one Abstergo guard was all that remained standing. The guard was a towering man of six foot five with a small beard and a very toned body. He could probably beat Will in an arm wrestle, with little or no effort, and Tom knew that he had to take this guard on with no distinct advantage in his favour. For all the guard's strength, he was also light on his feet and lightning fast. He closed the distance between him and Tom almost instantly. Tom had to bring his Kukri quickly up as the guard drove his baton down with the power of a runaway freight train. The shock of the blow vibrated through Tom, stunning him, when the guard delivered a powerful kick to Tom chest, sending him flying backwards into a rock wall. One of the handholds jutting out from the wall dug painfully into Tom's lower back as his collided with the wall. Within the blink of an eye, the guard was upon him again, bringing the baton across in a fierce sideswipe, which Tom narrowly managed to deflect with his much smaller Kukri. But the guard stopped the blow and pulled his hand back into a powerful backhand slap that sent Tom stumbling to his left. Another kick sent Tom stumbling back before tripping backwards over a bench-press. On the ground, Tom picked up a dumbbell on the ground and threw it with all his strength at the towering guard. The guard caught it effortlessly in front of his face, only to see Tom running almost horizontally along a wall before jumping off and hitting the guard with a flying kick. The move barely stunned the man, or sent him backwards, but a thin line of blood now ran down his cheek were a bruise would later appear. Tom, now behind the man, launched forward, his Kukri raised. The man spun around to meet him and caught the blow easily in his massive hands, encompassing the weapon and Tom's hand. He used his grip on the weapon to pull Tom up in front of him, before head-butting him square in the face. Tom collapsed backwards, blood pouring from his nose. Tom was losing this fight, badly. He groaned as he slowly got to his feet, preparing to gamble everything on ending this fight quickly. He charged forwards at the guard, who smiled as he readied to meet the charging subject. With less than two paces left, Tom tossed the Kukri to his left hand and dived at the guard. The move caught the guard off guard, but he countered the move and punched Tom in the face. He picked Tom up and pinned him to a wall with his forearm against Tom's throat. The guard dropped his baton and made ready to punch Tom's lights out, but as he drew his fist back, Tom spat blood in his face and smiled a toothy grin, showing the thin, red lines of blood running between his teeth. The guard wiped the blood from his face and punched him in the gut, driving the wind out of Tom. He drew back again to punch Tom in the face, but Tom smiled again as he showed a taser in his hand to the guard. The guard's eyes widened as Tom rammed the taser into the guard's neck and the electric current caused the guard to recoil and drop Tom, before collapsing unconscious. Tom smiled at his victory as he lost consciousness as well.

* * *

When Tom woke up, he was lying in a bed in what appeared to be an infirmary. The curtains were drawn but in the narrow gap between them, he saw that it was night outside. The room had no lights on and the room was pitch black, but his vision quickly adjusted to the darkness. He sat up and swung his legs over the slide of the bed, and suppressed a yell as pain exploded in his ribs. He sat there, breathing for a few moments, before he slipped down of the bed and made his way to the door. On a small table near the door was a neat pile of the clothes he had been wearing. He removed the gown he had be put into and pulled on his jeans, t-shirt and hoodie. The t-shirt had a small bloodstain on it from where he'd spat on the guard and some blood had dribbled, but other than that, his clothes were clean. Not being one to be cooped up for any length of time, Tom made his way out of the door and into the bright corridor outside his infirmary room. The hallway was empty with the exception of a couple of patrolling guards, who had passed his room and were heading further down the hallway. Careful not to alert them, he slipped out of the door and made his way down the hallway in the opposite direction to the guards. He hadn't seen this part of the facility before and quickly became lost. He made his way through the maze of corridors and rooms and dead ends until eventually, he chased up the staircase leading to the observation room where Tyler had been observing them earlier in the day. He silently scaled the stairs and stopped at the door, which was slightly ajar and light was pouring from the gap. Inside, people were talking.

"… understand that. I know, I know, don't jump into another lecture. I couldn't take it." Came the first voice. This voice was clearly from someone youthful, but whatever they were talking about, he was less than enthusiastic.

"I won't lecture you again." Came another voice, this one sounding old and dry like sand. "But understand that it must be done. They have grown too skilled. Should they attempt to escape, they may succeed. That cannot be allowed to happen."

"But killing them? Isn't there another way? What about continuing our research?"

"Yes, they must be killed. They must be killed tonight. And fear not. We will take a sample of their blood and ship it to our entertainment department. Abstergo Entertainment can continue our search. We'll find new subjects to replace these ones."

"Can't we just add more security to keep them secure?"

"It's too late now. I have men moving in to murder them in their sleep even as we speak. They'll all be dead soon."

Tom didn't know why, but he was certain that they were talking about him, Will and Chad. He sacrificed silent movement for speed and dashed all over the facility to get to the infirmary and intercept the killers. His heart leapt into his mouth as he rounded a corner and came face to face with Tyler. But Tyler raised a finger to his lips, gesturing for silence, and grabbed Tom's wrist and ran, leading him through the facility. Tom was unsure if he could trust him, but he had no choice, he had to get back quickly. Tyler had discarded his lab coat and was wearing jeans, a red t-shirt and converse trainers. As they turned a corner, Tom recognised the infirmary hallway and dashed ahead. Tom skidded to a stop as one of the murderers stepped confused out of his infirmary room. The two stared at each other for several seconds, both too shocked to move. Suddenly, the side of the guy's head exploded in a mist of blood as Tom's Kukri embedded itself there.

"Holy shit!" Tom yelled as he turned away as the corpse slumped against the wall, a fine layer of blood covering his face. Tyler was stood static in a throwing position. It was him who had thrown the Kukri into the guy's head. He didn't flinch at the would-be killer's gory end, but Tom had to lean against a wall to stop himself from throwing up. Tyler rushed into Will's room and Chad's room and dealt with their potential killers in turn. When that had been done, Tyler walked up to the corpse outside Tom's room and, placing one foot on the man's head, pried the Kukri free of his head. Using the man's clothes, he wiped the blood, bone fragments and brain matter off the blade and handed it back to Tom, hilt first. Tom took it as Chad and Will stumbled out of their rooms, still groggy from their sleep. Tyler ordered the group to follow him and they did. He led them stealthily from corridor to corridor, avoiding patrols and waiting before crossing areas with cameras. Apparently, he had planted a computer virus that looped old camera footage to certain cameras at certain points to conceal their progress. Every now and again, he would stop them dead in their tracks to avoid entering a camera's line of sight until the virus rendered them useless, then they could proceed. None of the areas they raced through were familiar to them, so they had to place a massive amount of trust in Tyler. If he was leading them into some kind of trap, they were helpless against it. Eventually, they made it to a car park were several cars were still parked for the night. Scattered around the car park were the lifeless bodies of Abstergo guards, multiple wounds of different sizes and shapes littering their bodies.

"Come on!" Tyler yelled to them, running directly towards a car, presumably his. As the subjects approached, Tyler saw a fellow scientist from here at Abstergo strapped down to the driver's seat, duct tape covering his mouth and holding his hands against the wheel. The scientist was Kaiden Matthews, one of Tyler's team monitoring the subjects and a good friend of Tyler's. Confused, Tyler opened the door and he heard a small click as he inched it open. A complex mechanism attached to the door went off and Kaiden screamed into the duct tape as an explosion blew Kaiden and the car to bits. Tyler was caught in the blast and the four escapees were sent flying backwards.


	5. Breaking Out

**Chapter 5 – Breaking Out**

Tom sat up from the ground, his ears ringing and his vision tilting against his will. He was completely disorientated from the blast. He saw Chad and Will also sitting up and recovering from the explosion. He saw the wreckage of the car that they were rushing to get to only moments ago. He must have been hallucinating because he could swear he saw Tyler caught in the blast, but he could see him rushing over and helping him to his feet. But it wasn't a hallucination because Tyler really did help him to his feet. His t-shirt and jeans were burnt and smouldering, but other than that, he looked completely untouched. After ensuring that Tom was ok, Tyler dashed over to Will and Chad to check on them. Once everyone was on their feet, the four of them gathered in the centre of the car park.

"Time for plan B." said Tyler.

"What's plan B?" the other three chorused.

"We run."

And so the three of them ran from the car park and into the night. It was a very miserable night. It was as dark as black ink and raining like the floodgates of heaven had opened. Within seconds, they were drenched. In the distance, a low rumble of thunder could be heard. The explosion had triggered an automated police response and armed units were already on their way. Abstergo security were also embarking in vehicles and preparing to pursue the four men. Sirens blared and blue lights flashed as the police put the city into lock down, and arresting anyone that moved. In the terrifying moment of panic, a police car seemed to come charging down the road towards them and Tyler rugby tackled the three of them sideways into a bush. In a stroke of luck, the police car didn't seem to notice the movement and continued flying down the road at high speed. Tyler stuck his head out of the bush and watched and waited for several seconds to make absolutely sure that the area was clear before the four moved on again. When he was certain, the four clambered out from the bush and they began sneaking through the night time streets once more. They had several close encounters with police and Abstergo security forces, but they were only detected once. Tyler quickly subdued them before they could raise the alarm, using lightning fast unarmed attacks and a stolen baton from an Abstergo guard. He speed and skill both with and without a weapon was astonishing. His reflexes and reaction didn't seem human. The way he fought was so fluid and he didn't break the pace. They stood no chance again him. And so the four continued on again. After a while, Chad asked the question that was on his, Tom's and Will's mind.

"Where are we going?"

Tyler continued to scout ahead before turning around and answering his question.

"We're headed for a safe house. I know one close by."

"Safe house?!" exclaimed Tom, "What kind of MI6 shit is this?"

"I'll explain everything later, for now keep quiet and follow me." Replied Tyler, calmly.

The trio followed him and tried to sneak as best as they could, but none could match his stealth skills. Tom came close, but even he struggled in comparison. Tyler appeared to have been honing his stealth skills for several lifetimes.

They made their way down several blocks before another question was asked, this time by Will.

"Why do we need to go to a safe house? What's going on?" he asked.

"Why must you all ask so many questions?" Tyler replied, muttering under his breath. Silence reigned for several seconds before he spoke to the group.

"In case you haven't noticed, Abstergo is trying to kill you, but I'm trying to help you. Now, if you want to live, shut the fuck up and follow me!"

That kept the group silent as they stalked their way through the streets, ducking into alleyways and side roads. Eventually, they reached and old abandoned garage, which looked completely run down. Tyler led them inside, lifting the garage door to allow them entry to the workshop before lowering it silently back to the ground. Inside, it was pitch black until Tyler flicked on a nearby light switch. Old, dusty lights flickered slightly as power returned to them and shined brightly, illuminating the entire workshop. Old wrecks of cars were scattered around, rusting and gutted for parts. An old leaking pipe dripped constantly somewhere out of view and a foul, rotting smell filled the air.

"Not exactly how I remember it," said Tyler, more to himself than the others, "But it still smells like home."

The three of them looked at him, eyebrows raised. Then they noticed what was in the centre of the room. They looked different, but they instantly knew what they were. Tyler smiled and the other three's jaws dropped. There, across the room and facing them, were three things each of them had become really accustomed to in recent weeks. In front of them was their own, individual animus, each stored in a separate truck.

"So, what do you think? We call it the Animus 2.0" Announced Tyler to the others.

"Fuck that." Said Tom, walking towards the door. "What kind of bullshit is this?"

"What?" asked Tyler, apparently confused.

"We've just spent weeks in those things by a company that just tried to kill us. Why the hell would we get in those things again?!" Tom snapped at him.

"Because we aren't them." Tyler replied calmly.

"What do you mean _we_?"

Tyler sighed before continuing.

"That company that you and the world know as Abstergo? Me and my friends know them by a different name. You should be familiar with it by now. We call them Templars."

The three others gasped in shock.

"We are Assassins." He continued. Tom, Will and Chad's jaws dropped even further. "And right now, we're a little bit low on recruits. You three show promise and after Abstergo tried to terminate you, I'm guessing you'll want some payback."

"Hell yeah!" Chorused Will and Chad, but Tom still looked nervous.

"Look," he said to Tyler, "I know you Assassins, if you are the same band of Assassins who's lives we've been living in the past, might have a noble cause, but I'm not even that old yet and I can't just kill people. It's not right! I'm getting out of here."

He turned to leave but Tyler placed a firm but reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I understand your hesitation, and I won't force you into something you don't want to do. But please, Abstergo will be looking for you now. At least let me teach you how to defend yourself." Tyler said to him.

Tom turned to Tyler and saw the pleading look in his eyes. It wasn't a sign of weakness, it was a sign that Tyler genuinely cared about his survival in this manhunt. Tom looked at Tyler, then at the door, then back at Tyler. With a sigh, he agreed to stay. A great toothy smile lit up Tyler's face.

"Right then," he said, clapping his hands together, "Get in the van. It's time to go to work."

The three of them each got nervously into the back of one of the vans each and closed the shutter behind them. Tyler got into the driver's seat of the middle one and there was already a driver in each of the other two vans. As the ignition started, old candescent lights lit up the back of each van. The three vans drove casually out of the garage and into the night-time streets and the convoy moved through the city in a carefully planned route, using side streets and alleyways to evade patrol cars and road blocks. At one point, they all pulled over and turned off the ignition. The drivers ducked down beneath the dashboard as patrol cars stalked slowly past, ignoring the supposedly parked vehicles as they drove past. The only sound was the low growl of the patrol cars' engines and the soft pitter-patter of rain hitting the vehicles. When the patrol cars turned around a corner, the three vehicles started up and went on their way once more. Before long, the vans reached the edge of the city. Here there was a roadblock, sealing their way out. But this time, instead of avoiding it, the vans drove straight up to it. The lead vehicle, which Tyler was driving, pulled up at the checkpoint and Tyler rolled down the window to talk to the man in charge. There were armed police all around the checkpoint, eyeing the vehicle suspicious. Every guard had his finger itching as it rested on the trigger, ready for if the vans made any sudden move. The man in charge strode up to Tyler's window and when he saw Tyler and Tyler gave him a discreet nod, the man ordered the barrier be lifted, and the three vehicles drove easily out of the city.

* * *

They drove for hours and there were no windows in the back of the vans, so Tom, Chad and Will all sat strapped into their animi, the only seat available in the back of the vans, counting the seconds as they passed into minutes, which passed into hours. One by one, they fell asleep from a combination of mental and physical exhaustion and boredom. When they awoke, it was mid-morning and birds chirped cheerily in the sky. Tyler rolled up the shutter on the back of his van and the sudden brightness of the morning sun woke Tom with a start. He was slouched awkwardly in the animus, his left leg draping over an arm piece. When the bright sunlight woke him, he rolled over and fell clumsily off the animus, landing on the floor of the truck.

"Morning." Said Tyler. Tom just groaned in reply, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Chad and Will were already wide awake and ready to go. They had woken up hours before, Will because he was used to early starts to the day and Chad said he was up because he said his driver intentionally hit every bump in the road to wake him up. He was pretty annoyed by it, but Tyler passed him a hip flask and he soon shut up. During this time, Tom was inspecting his surroundings. They appeared to be in a warehouse of some kind with a high ceiling fading into darkness and crates stacked on shelves reaching up towards the roof. The three vans were parked by a closed metal shutter which they had obviously drove through, but next to it was a small locked doorway which they could walk through should they not use the vehicles. Overall, the place was in a similar condition to the garage where they had gotten in the vans: falling to pieces.

Tyler, Tom, Chad and Will all stood in the centre of the warehouse when Tom asked Tyler a question.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Chicago." Tyler answer.

"What do we do now?" Will asked.

"Now?" Tyler replied "Now we train."

"And how is a nerdy lab-rat like you going to train us to be skilled killers?" This was Chad.

Tyler rolled up his sleeve and the three of them gasped in shock.

"I trust this is enough proof?" Tyler commented.

There, winding around his arm was an unmistakable marking. One that they had spent a lot of time getting used to. It shouldn't have been possible, but there was no other explanation. There, curled around his arm, was the notorious snake tattoo. He wasn't Tyler. He was Jason Kenway.


	6. Jason

**Chapter 6 – Jason**

The three guys stood and stared in shock at the man in front of them. In the memory of their ancestors, they had seen a large man with a large tattoo of a snake winding down his right arm. But here, between two and three hundred years later, was a man with the exact same face and the exact same tattoo. Sure, his skin was a different shade to the past and his choice of words were different, but he was definitely the same man. They were slightly ashamed that none of them had noticed before now. Tyler, or rather Jason, just smiled at them, flashing pearly white teeth. For several seconds, no-one moved an inch, like someone had frozen time and everyone was locked in place. After the awkward silence, Jason tried to get someone to at least move.

"So…" he said.

"So," Tom replied, "You're Jason? The guy from the past?"

"Yeah" Jason nodded.

"Bullshit." Will butted in.

"I'm telling the truth." Pleaded Jason. They all knew he was being honest. It should not have been possible, but somehow it was. He must have been around two hundred years old, but not a single wrinkle creased his perfectly framed face. More silence followed. One of the drivers of the vans jumped down from his seat, high up on top of a stack of crates and called to Jason.

"Hey Jason!" he yelled. "It ain't safe here. We should move out to the safe house further inside the city. I'm got a nagging feeling that we were followed."

"Calm down," Jason called back calmly "You always have a feeling that we were followed."

The woman chuckled but the man did not look amused. "Listen," he said, "How many times has my instinct saved our arses."

Jason just replied with a dismissive nod of the head.

"We're here now," the woman said from her position, leaning against a stack of steel shelving. "We might as well stay here for a bit and resupply for this last leg of the journey."

The man gave what could be described as an angry growl, but it was his way of consenting, despite not liking the idea. Jason nodded in agreement as well. Tom, Will and Chad were still staring at Jason, jaws still to the floor.

"Quit catching flies." Jason said, before walking into a small side room which was used as a kitchen.

Tom and the other two closed their mouths and followed Jason, still dumbfounded. He sat at a stool in the kitchen and took an apple from a bowl and took a large bite, munching on it greedily. Only now did he seem to notice the three of them awkwardly staring at him.

"What?" he said with his mouth full, seemingly ignorant of why they were staring.

"S- should- shouldn't you be… you know… six feet under by now?" Will asked, tripping over his words.

"No…" Jason replied, apparently more confused than them.

"But you're, like… over two hundred years old!" Tom questioned.

"262 to be exact." He replied evenly.

Chad let out a low whistle of surprise. "That's decent." He said, bemused.

"How are you so calm about this?" Tom and Will chorused.

"It's not _that_ bad…" Chad replied, keeping his face dead straight.

Chad's relaxed attitude made Will and Tom even more confused. They were about to start an argument when Jason interrupted, eager to diffuse the situation before it descended into an all-out argument.

"Alright, calm down you lot. Look, I'm gonna lay this out for you really simply. So simple, even Chad could understand it."

"Wassup." Chad said, oblivious to the insult.

"Listen, I am the man you've been seeing in the memories of your ancestors. I am Jason Kenway, half-brother to Connor Kenway, legendary Assassin. Hundreds of years ago, I watched the brotherhood here in America fall to pieces. I have seen the Assassins rise and fall many times over the years, but we have never been completely destroyed. Yes, the Templars have broken our backs and our fighting spirit many times, but being an Assassin isn't a life choice, it is an idea. An idea of freedom which thousands would support if they knew of this secret war throughout the countless generations of men and women who fought for our cause. Now you can believe me and fight for us, or you can call me crazy and walk away, but freedom is a choice and the choice is yours."

"And what if we walk away and expose you to the public." Chad asked.

"Go ahead." Jason replied. "But who would believe three men who claim to know of a secret order of Assassins fighting a big, bad company for thousands of years?"

Chad conceded the point, but Will asked "What if we told Abstergo where you are?"

"That's why the back of the van has no windows, so you don't know our exact location. Plus Abstergo still want to kill you. They'd probably torture you for information you don't have and when they realise that you don't have any valuable intel to spill, they'll kill you and dump your body somewhere." This was the other male Assassin.

Chad and Will doubted him still, but ironically, Tom seemed close to joining the creed.

"How can we help?" he said "You saw what happened when you killed that guy sent to kill me. I can't kill people."

"I know, but you have the fire of a warrior in you. We have support roles that you can fill but I've seen your skills, you would be far superior in a practical role." Jason replied

"Alright," Tom sighed, "I'm in."

Will said "Well if the baby is going to join, I guess I've got to too."

Chad nodded eagerly, like a young child going on a school trip. "I'm in! Me too!"

"Good." Jason smiled at the new recruits.

* * *

They spent the next few days training hard and bouncing from safe-house to safe-house to hide from Abstergo agents hidden in the public. Each trained hard, focusing on areas key to being a great Assassin. They used weights and treadmills to increase their strength and speed. They ran obstacle courses to improve their agility. And they hid in darkened rooms and tried to ambush Jason, to better their stealth skills. None of them ever succeeded at the last exercise. They never even came close. Only Tom ever got very far. He once managed to completely evade Jason's search for him, but the moment he leapt down from his hiding place in the piping on the roof, he was instantly taken down by Jason's fierce combat skills. Jason didn't injury them maliciously purposely, but he left marks and bruises to teach them lessons, hoping that because of it, they would never make the same mistake twice. They never did.

In combat practise, Will used his large strength in attempt to crush Tom and Chad, but Tom inherited his ancestor's agility skills and easily evaded the blows. Chad inherited his ancestor's clumsiness and ability to take blows and shrug them off. Tom would duck and dive under and over blows and Chad would catch the blows on his face as they missed Tom, but as hard as Tom hit, he could not seem to faze the towering giant. Eventually, when Chad had taken several hits too many and dropped to the ground unconscious for the seventh time in five minutes, Will dropped to his knees from exhaustion. For half an hour he had tried but he simply could not hit the fast-moving Tom. Tom, on the other hand, was sweating but was barely breathing hard. This seemed like a regular exercise to him. He walked over to Will and raised a knee swiftly until it connected with his jaw. Will's head snapped back with a painful crunch and blood filled his mouth as he bit his tongue. He swung his fist wildly, hoping to hit Tom, but Tom leapt forward to avoid it and vaulted over him. As Tom landed on the other side of his, he swivelled and thrust his arm around the front of Will's neck and gripped his other arm which he held against the back of Will's neck, forming a choke hold. He squeezed and Will immediately went red and thrashed his legs about wildly. His hands tried to pull Tom's arm from around his neck but Tom's arm was firmly under his chin and wasn't going anywhere. He threw a blind punch over his shoulder, and by sheer luck, it hit Tom's nose. Tom lost his grip and collapsed on his back from the blow and Will stood, towering above him. Will leaned in to punch him again while he couldn't get away, but Tom lashed out with a kick to his chest. Will stumbled back from the kick, but came forward again unfazed. Tom kicked out again and drove him back once more. Will was starting to get angry and charged forwards.

"ENOUGH!" Jason bellowed. Will stopped mid-charge and Tom had to roll out of the way to avoid getting trampled. Jason stared at Will for several moments, his face dark. "Today's training is over. Go back to your room and get some rest. Tom. A word?" He said.

When Chad and Will left the room, Jason's features soften and he spoke in a calmer tone.

"Tom," he said, "You're a natural fighter, but lack the killer's instinct. When you had Will in the chokehold, you could have easy squeezed tighter and forced Will to stop that blow coming, but you lacked the killer instinct in your eyes and that could cost you, not just your life, but the life of your whole team in an assignment. And when he flipped the tables and you had to kick out to hold him back, I saw fear in your eyes."

"I'm sorry." Tom said, ashamed.

"Don't be." Jason smiled. "Use it. Use your fear of dying to stay alive."

"Ok. I'll try." Tom returned the smile.

* * *

The next day, they were allowed a glimpse outside as they stepped outside the van and into the safehouse, as this safehouse had no way to park the van inside. Only Tom was smart enough to figure out where they were. Not their exact location, but he knew roughly where they were. In the distance, he spied Willis Tower, looming over the city. They were in Chicago. He didn't say anything to the others. They would find out on their own, if they hadn't already done so. Walking inside the safe house, the three trainees saw that it was, in fact, and abandoned gym, but still in full working order. To the right was racks upon racks of dumbbells of varying weights, with several weight benches nearby. Further down was a series of punch bags and pull-up bars. To the left was another set of pull-up bars along with cross-trainers, treadmills and rowing machines. But the centrepiece of the gym, directly in front of them, was a boxing ring. Suspended over the ring was a chain-link walkway.

"Welcome to your home for the next few months!" Jason said, strolling inside and hanging his coat up in an office near the entrance. "Here is where we train most trainees in the area, except those already trained in The Farm."

"The Farm?" Tom asked, curious.

"Sorry." Said Jason. "The Farm is basically our headquarters in America. Most of our Assassins are born into the order when they are born there. They are trained from a young age and typically become the best our order has to offer. Though not all choose to stay. There is the occasional case of someone leaving before coming back when they're all grown up to continue the fight." His expression became sad. He said, more to himself than anyone: "Poor William Miles... To lose his son like that…"

"What?" said Chad, not hearing the last part.

"Never mind." Jason replied quickly. "Of course, those who leave the order lack most of the training of those who stayed. Typically, with those few, we utilise the Bleeding Effect to help train them significantly faster. Of course that is risky, but sometimes necessary."

"Bleeding Effect?" questioned Tom.

"I'll explain later. For now, head up those stairs and follow the gantry. Take a right and cross the room. You can find your own rooms from there. In five minutes, I expect you back here to continue your training for today."

With that, the three trainees made their way to their rooms.

* * *

Six minutes later, Chad came dashing out of his room and sprinted across the walkway. Halfway across, he vaulted the railing and dropped down into the boxing ring. He slid under the ropes and ran over to where Tom and Will were waiting patiently, with Jason staring at his watch.

"Sorry I'm late…" he said, "again…"

"Is there any point in me telling you not to be late again?"

"Probably not!" Chad smiled.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Ok then. Today, you are free to exercise how you wish, and provided you are exercising, I will not disturb you. Now, get to it."

Will immediately lumbered towards the weight benches and Tom made his way over to the pull-up bars. Chad looked around idly, before calling to Tom.

"Hey, Tom! Spar with me?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of the ring.

"I'll spar with you pip-squeak." Will grinned.

"He asked me." Tom told Will, sternly. The two glared at each other, fire in their eyes. Ever since the fight, each held a bitter grudge against the other.

"Its fine." stated Chad, coming between them. "I asked Tom first, so…"

With a growl, Will made his way back to the weights. Tom and Chad put in mouth-guards and put on gloves. They stepped in the ring and quietly stretched before the sparring.

"How'd you want this?" Tom asked.

"Lightly at first, until we warm up. Then we'll go harder in later rounds." Chad replied, thinking.

The two touched gloves and then started dancing around each other as the first round began.

* * *

Chad slumped into his corner as Tom yelled "Time!" at the end of the round and they touched gloves again. Sweat was pouring down Chad's face but Tom had barely broken a sweat. He jumped from foot to foot in his corner, keeping his blood flowing. Chad took a large swig from his waterbottle before Tom called over to him.

"Sips, mate. Not gulps. You'll feel bloated and sick if you gulp it down."

Chad nodded his thanks and took a few more sips before putting it back down. They touched gloves again and another round began. As they started circling each other, Chad started asking Tom questions.

"Hey dude, how come you're so good at this?" he asked.

"I used to box a lot in my younger teen years. I won several tournaments but I had to quit when exams came up. After my exams, I was more into freerunning, and that's how I ended up who I am today."

"Jeez… How many tournaments did you win?"

"About six, I think. They all fell for the Southpaw jinx." Tom smiled.

"Any knockouts?"

"A few."

"So how come you could beat the shit out of several guys, but then you can't stand the thought of killing someone? I thought boxers needed to have the animal urge to practically kill someone in the ring to win?"

"I don't know… I just… I'm ok with hurting someone if I have to, but unnecessarily killing someone? My heart isn't up to it."

"Damn dude."

"Yeah, how about you? Anything happen in your past?" Tom asked, curious.

"Nothing special. Just a regular, boring childhood with nothing interesting to talk about. I've always planned on being an animator and blacksmith, and a few months before Abstergo contacted the three of us, I was offered a job as a freelance animator and I took it. That's probably about the highlight of my life. I mean, I did serve in the army for a while, but my officer did something a man shouldn't do and he was court-marshalled. He was found guilty and our entire unit was disbanded. The worst part was that he wasn't the only one who knew. I walked in on it once and he bought my silence. I should have reported it but I didn't. I fucked up…" Chad told him, clearly upset.

"Shit, man. That's dark. What about the asshole?" asked Tom, gesturing at Will as he lifted weights. Chad was glad to shift the attention away from himself and his shame.

"We've been friends for a while but what do I know about before I met him? Not much. His dad was a US marine who was MIA presumed dead after a military operation went wrong. They found him dead several weeks later. He'd been tortured until his body gave in from the torture and he died. Will was seven at the time. When he was old enough to understand, he became determined to become a marine and fight like his father had. We met the night his was dishonourably discharged."

"He was dishonourably discharged?"

"Yeah, he threw his commanding officer overboard while they were in transit across the harbour in San Diego. That night he was getting pissed in a bar when some idiot bumped into him and spilt his drink. Next thing the guy knows he's flying over the bar and into racks of alcohol behind the bar. The Will starts smashing him with a barstool!"

"Oh my god! Was the guy ok?"

"Are you kidding?! I've still got the scars!"

Tom stared at Chad for several seconds before replying "Suddenly, this story makes too much sense."

Chad only smiled. "Since then, but before the animation job came up, we moved from city to city working as barmen, or bouncers, or gym instructors, but we always went to the underground fights. He would win every last one."

"I can believe it…" said Tom, gritting his teeth as he glared at Will.

* * *

The training continued for several days, and each day they were free to do as they pleased. Occasionally, they were pulled to one side by Jason to work on Assassin-specific training exercises, but other than that, they were left undisturbed. About a week in, when they awoke at the normal time, and stood to attention in the centre of the gym as Jason always ordered them to, he gave them a small announcement.

"Ok, folks." He said, "Today, you will not be training as you normally do. Even with all your natural skills and skills you have picked up in your lives, and the training we have done here, you are not learning fast enough and we are running out of time. It's nothing against you, it just can't be done in what little time we have left. It is impossible. Fortunately, we have an alternative that can speed up the process and it may be able to get you all ready in time. Follow me."

With that, he walked away into a small side room that the three trainees had never noticed before. He strolled inside and they followed behind him. Inside of the room were three (more stylish) versions of something they had last seen in Abstergo.

"Great." Said Tom "I thought we'd seen the last of these things."


	7. Animus Mk2

**Chapter 7 – Animus 2.0**

Inside the room were three animuses (or animi? I still don't know!) waiting for Chad, Tom and Will.

"Great." Said Tom "I thought we'd seen the last of these things."

"Sorry," said Jason, "But it's the only shot we have at training you in time."

"In time for what?" questioned Chad.

"Abstergo will find this place soon. We need to be fully trained and long gone by the time they get here. And we need to remove any evidence that this is Assassin property. Now please, get in the animus."

The three trainees grudgingly got into their own animus and felt it power up as the other two Assassins that had come with them set them up and prepared them. Before long, they felt their eyelids suddenly go heavy and as their eyes closed, their DNA was unravelled as the Animus sent them to a specific memory, right after the events of their last memory in the Animus at Abstergo.

* * *

They were inside a dark room in a small house in Boston. The only light was a series of dim candles littered around the room. Through the thin fabric of the curtains, soft flakes of snow could be seen drifting lazily to the ground, contrasting against the stark black of the night. A bitter chill flowed through the gaps in the crumbling wall and the six Assassins huddled around a map of Boston, desperately trying to keep warm. They had decided that to cover the most ground and to reduce the chance of being detected, they would each cover a section of the city a carry out reconnaissance in their sector. They would then report back to this house and share what they knew. They would do this every day, unless they discovered a lead that meant that they had to stake-out a location or tail someone in the middle of the night.

Will was tasked with trying to infiltrate Southgate Fort and gain intelligence on guards. There movements, the commanders and any possible weaknesses in their defences that could allow more Assassins to infiltrate the city and assist with special operations. Chad would work the taverns, gaining an insight on what the Templars were up too. He knew how a few tankards of alcohol could loosen tongues. Jason was to get a job as cheap labour in the warehouses at the docks, to try to learn if the Templars were shipping anything in or out of the city. Jae, Layla and Horatio were to pose as high-class people and rub shoulders with the rich and powerful in the city, most of whom would certainly be in the Templars' pockets. For about two weeks they worked without a single lead. The Templars were well organised and dug in deep. Whatever they were up to, they kept it well hidden. Then, on the sixteenth meeting, they had two possible leads to follow up on.

* * *

"So I've been ordered to help on a late shipment which should be arriving around about midnight tomorrow, and from what I know, few know about it and fewer still know its contents. I've told to get the cargo off the ship immediately after it docks, not to look at the cargo inside the containers, and to not ask questions. Whatever this is, its big." Reported Jason to the group.

"Any chance you can smuggle some of the cargo away?" asked Chad.

"No. This has to be important to them. They'd notice if any went missing. I'll try to get a look at what the shipment is, but I gather security will be tight, so I'm making no promises."

"Understood." Said Chad. "Anyone else got any leads?"

"We do." Replied Jae. "We have been invited to the masked ball held in a manor house. Only the best get invited. We're going to need dresses, a suit for Horatio and masks."

"Perfect. This could be our chance to see how far the Templars have got their claws stuck in society. We can steal what you need, and the masks mean you'll be able to take a few more risks as they can't see your face. The problem is weapons. You won't be able to take any in with you and your hidden blades are too conspicuous. We may be able to smuggle something in for you but it will be difficult. Is there anything else to report?"

The group slowly shook their heads.

"Okay then. Tomorrow we make our preparations. For now, get some rest. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow. I'll take first watch."

* * *

The next day, they found that they never needed to steal the dresses or suit. Horatio knew the tailor and after a bit of pressure and good old blackmail he obtained them for nothing. 'Consider it a favour, honouring past debts' the tailor had said. What that meant was between him and Horatio. The masks were inexpensive and bought with cold, hard coins. The three of them spent the rest of the day bathing and getting ready. Horatio even went on a little shopping trip of his own and bought Layla some expensive looking perfume. 'To help blend in at the ball' he said. Layla was very grateful and shared it with Jae. Meanwhile, Chad managed to steal a carriage and hide it in a warehouse near the docks, out of the way. Jason had little preparations to make, so he spent the day planning on how to get weapons into the ball, should Jae, Horatio or Layla need them. With all the preparations in place, they waited for nightfall, and set out on their first operation in Boston since the resurrection of the Templar order.

* * *

Jason had left the house shortly before nightfall, having been told to be at the docks as night fell as a precaution as the shipment may have arrived early. Jae and Layla got into their dresses upstairs as Chad and Horatio waited downstairs. Horatio wore a black suit and his hair was brushed neatly to one side. Chad would drive the carriage, which he had drove to the front door, to the ball and then he would wait at the back of the manor where it was held, ready to help the other three escape if something went wrong. When the girls came downstairs, their dresses flowing, they looked stunning. The boys' jaws dropped. Layla wore an elegant pale pink dress with frilly edgings and a low cut that slightly exposed the top of her chest, in a sensually and elegant, not an easy way. Jae wore a similar dress in a cream-white colour, with a graceful opening at the sides, exposing the lower half of her legs from the side. She wore stylish black boots underneath. Both girls had their hair cascading down around their shoulders, framing their petite face, which had a small amount of makeup to emphasise their radiant beauty.

"Wow. You girls look… amazing." Said Horatio, focusing entirely on Layla. She blushed from the comment. Chad bowed as he opened the door and the girls walked through.

"Your carriage awaits." He said to them as they passed him.

* * *

The ride to the manor was uneventful. Horatio handed the girls their masks while Chad drove the horses from the driver's seat outside the carriage. Horatio's mask was a simple black half-face mask that covered his eyes. Layla's mask was a golden mask with a light silver lace edging. A thin golden pattern jetted from the right side and made up the shape of a swan. Jae's mask was a mask of glittery silver that covered the upper portion of her face, framed by silver lace that was a shade lighter than the glitter. A single black feather protruded from the top. When they arrived, Chad jumped down from his seat and opened the door, bowing as he did so, to allow the three occupants to head inside, handing their tickets to a guard as they passed.

Inside, masked figures danced around a large hall in-time to the music being played by a small orchestra on the second floor. In the centre of the room was a large staircase that lead upwards before splitting in two and winding around the second-floor balcony. Masks and dresses of all kinds could be found on the people crammed into the room. It was if there was an explosion of colour within.

"Time to start blending." Whispered Horatio. "May I have this dance, my lady?"

And with that, him and Layla were lost in the swirling, whirling bodies of the dancing guests. Jae moved away from the majority of the crowd and made her way to a small side area where drinks were being served. As she made her way there, she bumped shoulders with a man passing in the other direction. He wore rich clothes but of dark colours and his mask was black with golden edging. His left hand had a bandage wrapped around it several times from some form of injury. His hair was a very dark brown, almost to the point of being black, and behind his mask, she could see his bright green eyes flaring. For a second, they locked eyes. There was something familiar about him.

"Sorry." He muttered to her, his voice also deep, before walking through the crowd, being lost from her sight. She stared after him for several seconds before realising that he was gone from her sight and she continued on to get herself a drink. She sat at a chair for some time with a drink, talking to and befriending several fellow party-goers, hoping to glean some information from them later. She could see the lust in the eyes of several of the men and even some of the women when they spoke with her. She suddenly became very self-conscious and worried about what happened behind the scenes at these parties. Once couple of a man and a woman became scarily close to her and closed in on where she sat, the woman licking her lips. She felt her heart race in fear as they got close like predators circling their prey, but before they could approach her, the man who had bumped into her before cut them off and spoke to her, seemingly oblivious.

"My lady, forgive my rashness before. May I have this next dance?" He offered his hand to her, his smile bright and charming. Jae smiled back and, glad to get away from drunks looking for pleasure, she took his hand and rose from her seat. As they walked away, looking for a space to dance, she realised how small her petite hands felt in the muscular hands of the charming man. She could feel his toughened palm and the rough fabric of the bandage, clearly indicating he was no stranger to hard work and manual labour. As they found a space, the orchestra started playing the next piece and Jae and the man danced. He knew how to dance; she would give him that. He moved fluidly and every step was rehearsed. She had such a wonderful time dancing with him that time seemed to pass painfully fast. She wished she had longer to spend with this man. He was so charming. And those eyes. Still, should could not shake the familiar feeling she had around him and she had to constantly remind herself to be strong. For all she knew, this man was a Templar agent and she may have to kill him. She prayed it would not be so, but she knew that she may have to take this man's life.

When the next piece played, they did not stop dancing. This next piece was slow and he held her close, her head resting on his chest as they slowly rocked back and forth in time with the music. The music was slow and romantic and Jae couldn't resist him. She placed a delicate hand on his shoulder and moved to kiss him. He turned the kiss aside, not tempted by her.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I can't. It wouldn't be right."

She felt a little ashamed of her sudden weakness and her cheeks blazed crimson. She held her close still and they continued to rock to the music as the music faded until it was silent. The low hum-drum of chattering was now the sole thing that could be heard as the orchestra stopped playing and a group of fancily dressed people stood at the balcony, overlooking the crowd. They were obviously the hosts of this party and the richest people here.

"Guests! Friends!" The man at the fore of the group announced to the crowd, who immediately went quiet to his words. "I would like to formally welcome you to my manor on this wonderful occasion! I understand, that for a few of you, this is your first time to one of my parties! For others, you are… well experienced…" he grinned. "Now, let the festivities truly begin!"

* * *

After several more dances together, Jae and the man walked back to where she had originally sat and he got her a drink. She was loathe to leave him when she had so much fun together, and she knew that because of the masks, the would probably never meet again, but she had a mission to accomplish. With a heavy heart, she walked away and made her way to a back room, behind the staircase. She found that her dress hindered her speed and agility, but she didn't require stealth or skills. She was only investigating the manor, looking for leads to the Templars. If she was caught, she could just claim she was lost. The manor was huge and filled with many rooms. She investigated some, but she didn't have much time and she resorted to doing a quick scan of the rooms before moving on to the next. After finishing her sweep of the first floor, she made her way upstairs to the first floor. Again, she was greeted by a large corridor with rooms branching off either side. She did the same as before and did a quick scan of the rooms before moving on. This time, however, she could hear a pair of guards chatting amongst each other as they patrolled. She quickly ducked into a room, careful not to trip on her dress or get it caught on the door. She waited calmly against the door as they walked past, oblivious to her presence. She breathed out as she heard their voices move away and only then did she notice the room she was in. It appeared to be a large master bedroom with an oversized king bed dominating the room. Silks and fineries hung everywhere. In the corner was a mahogany dressing table and mirror that must have cost a fortune. Soft, flickering candles provided a dim yet charming light. She took one of the candles and used it to help her see the documents she found when she opened one of the drawers of the dresser. Most were simple income or expenditure documents and she could see that despite spending so much money on ridiculous items of luxury, the family made so much more money. Such riches that a poor man could only dream of. As she flickered through the documents, quickly skimming the text for anything that stood out, she realised something was off. Every month, the family's income seemed normal (at least for them) but two months prior to this party, their income saw a sudden boom. She flicked through all the documents for income but she could not see any reason for profits to suddenly increase. But then she found two letters, one for each month, stating 'Private Funding' from an anonymous donor. The family was in no condition to need a donor, so she could only assume that someone was paying them for something, and the Templars immediately came to mind. She folded the letters and hid them in her corset by slotting it down between her breasts. She skimmed through more documents, but found no more luck in finding vital documents. She was checking under the bed when she heard something that made her heart stop. The door creaked open and a shadow cut off the light shining in. A voice spoke out, soft but menacing.

"You shouldn't be here."

* * *

Layla and Horatio danced the night away, enjoying the time with each other, spinning gracefully with the rest of the dancing crowd. For a while, the mission slipped from their minds and they revel in the here and now. As they danced, they nearly crashed into Jae, who happened to be dancing with a strong gentleman who seemed to cradle her like a father dancing with his daughter. The smiled as they watched the pair dance and wondered who the man behind the mask could be. Before long, they lost them in the crowd and began dancing again.

Later, they had decided the time was right and as the head of the family and owner of the manor gave a speech to the party goers, they slipped into a side-room as everyone's focus was elsewhere. The searched the manor for some time, which seemed deserted thanks to the party demanding everyone's attention. As they prowled around the manor, they had to quickly double back around a corner as they saw the master of the manor and a group of others strolling down the corridor. They were not seen, but the fear passed through them as they realised their carelessness. They tailed the small party for some time, only picking up snippets of conversation.

"…is in order…"

"…arriving soon… docks…"

"…package… valuable…"

"…thank you… brothers…"

"…guide us…"

Before long, they all went their separate ways and Layla and Horatio decided it was time to double back and get out of here. They would have to hope that Jae had the same thought and was already waiting with Chad at the carriage. They made their way back through the halls of the manor, dodging guard patrols that had strangely increased in size and frequency since they slipped away from the party. It was almost as if they were on alert. As if they _knew_ something. They used all their skills to evade them and at one point, they had to passionately kiss against a wall as a guard walked past. Clearly not wanting to disturb them, the guard paid them no mind and swiftly moved on. Within minutes, they were outside, strolling up to Chad, hand in hand. As they approached, Chad opened the carriage for them. As they entered, he sneaked a whisper to them.

"Is Jae with you?"

A look passed between Horatio and Layla.

* * *

Jason sat slumped atop some crates at the docks. He smoked a pipe with his hat pulled low over his eyes. To the world, he seemed asleep, but he was vigilant as ever. He was always vigilant. He could smell the salt in the rich sea air. He could hear the breathing of all the other workers nearby and he could see their breath misting before them. He felt the bitter winter chill bite deep into his bones. Looking up to the moon, he placed the time at around eleven o'clock at night. They had been waiting for some time but the shipment wasn't due for another hour. Men shuffled impatiently and tried to stay relatively comfortable and warm. It was an almost impossible task. Jason watched as a patrol boat sailed lazily past the warehouse where they were waiting. The guards with lanterns aboard could not see them from there, unaware that the lanterns restricted their vision more than it helped. It meant they lacked the night vision that would be needed to spot them. The boat sailed on, oblivious to the dockworkers waiting for a shipment of unknown cargo and origin. Jason had figured out the frequency of the passing patrol boats now. One passed through this dock every twenty-two minutes. It was only another ten minutes until Jason and the workers heard the signal they were waiting for. A high pitched shriek of a gull cut through the silent air and Jason's head shot up, honing in on the sound as the other workers began to stir. Jason waited ten seconds until the sound came again. The shrill shriek of the bird was heard, but Jason could hear the human behind the sound. This was what they had been waiting for. This was the signal. The large ship slowly pulled in to the docks and deckhands threw ropes over board for them to moor the ship with. Then the gangplank was lowered and they began quickly unloading the cargo. 'We'd better hurry up.' Jason thought. 'Only nine minutes left.'

* * *

Jae slowly got to her feet and brushed down her dress as she slowly turned, hands raised, to the man in the doorway. He was a brute of a man, heavily built with muscles like barrels. He wore the uniform of a guard of the manor and in his hands was a flintlock pistol and a large cavalry sabre. On a strap over his shoulder was a musket. The sabre was in his right hand at his side but the flintlock was in his left hand and levelled at her head.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, his eyes narrowed to nothing more than suspicious slits.

"I… erm… I got lost?" She stuttered back. She felt so weak and powerless without her blade.

"Yeah, right." The man scoffed. "I sound lock you up in the prison, torture you for hours and then let the master have his way with you."

Jae's eyes went wide with fear. "Please, no." she said timidly. "I'll do anything."

The guard grinned. "Well, we are in a bedroom. I suppose you could buy my silence."

Before Jae could even respond, glass shattered over the back of the man's head, showering the floor. He went stock straight before tilting forwards and collapsing on the floor, his face smashing into the broken glass. Behind him, holding the remnants of a glass bottle, stood the man she had danced with.

"Over my dead body." He said, staring down at the unconscious guard, digust and rage plain on his face despite the mask. He looked up at the wordless Jae and his tone went immediately soft. "Come. We must leave."

He took her by the hand and they ran down the corridor. It was plain to see that she was struggling to keep up in her long dress and with the heels on her boots, so he picked her up in both his arms and carried her down the hallways towards the exit. Before going back into the main hall, he placed her back down, figuring she could run the rest of the distance. When they reached the main hall, where the party took place, they entered from the ground floor but found the room deserted.

"Well, well, well." Said the master of the manor, clapping his hands slowly as he walked up to the railing of the balcony. "I see we have some guests snooping where they don't belong."

Behind the man was someone that made Jae's face contort with rage and her fists clench at her sides. She could feel her blood pumping and pure rage consume her body. Behind the master, was the slim man. She looked at her rescuer and saw him idly play with the bandage on his hand.

"Tell me." The master said. "May I see your faces? Or must my friend, here, pull the masks from your faces?"

As he said this, the slim man walked around him and slowly made his way intimidatingly down the stairs, never breaking eye contact.

"Run." Said the man who rescued Jae. "I'll be right behind you."

"What?"

"Run. Now!"

Not wanting to run away from her family's killer, she was reluctant, but conceded the point that she was unarmed and ran from the building. She hiked up her dress and sprinted to the waiting carriage before leaping inside. Chad shook the reigns and the horses began to pull the carriage but Jae yelled out.

"Wait! We have to wait for…" she looked back and saw no one else running from the manor.

"Wait for who?" Layla asked. "There's no-one there."

* * *

Jae spent the rest of the trip to the safehouse pondering the man she had spent time with. 'Was he real? Had she imagined him?' She didn't know. She couldn't understand it.

Jason and Will were already there when they arrived.

Jason explained how they had unloaded the ship between patrols and it had all been top-secret. He hadn't managed to identify what the cargo was but he did know it was something highly important to the Templars. Other than that and the increased trust they now had with him, his night had been relatively pointless.

Layla and Horatio reported that they had only overheard parts of a conversation from the master of the manor and others but nothing solid to report about. Then Jae spoke up.

"I have something valuable." She said, and all eyes were on her.

She reached down between her breasts and Chad turned away, cheeks blazing red. She pulled the documents from her corset and placed them on the table. Jason immediate opened them and quickly read them through.

"So," he said, "for the last two months, someone has been paying this family a lot of money for something. I doubt any one family could afford to give away this much, even a monarch. So this money must be coming from an organisation such as-"

"The Templars…" Chad finished.

"Exactly." Said Jason. "It's nothing solid, but it's a lead."

"Wait a second." Said Horatio. "When me and Layla were in the cellar, they seemed to be clearing space for something. Maybe it was those mystery crates you brought off the ship?"

"Could be… could be… Ok, let us focus our efforts on this family for now. We should still keep a watchful eye on the city but this seems like our best lead, but at the same time, let's not get our hopes up." Stated Jason.

"Oh no. That family is definitely aligned with the Templars." Commented Jae.

"What makes you so certain?"

"I saw the man who killed my family there."


	8. The Bleeding Effect

**Chapter 8 - The Bleeding Effect**

Tom had to blink several times as his vision returned. In between blinks, he could have sworn he had seen Shadow stood over him, but after his vision returned to normal, he could see that it was the female Assassin that had been accompanying them. His head felt… different. Different than it usually did after he'd been in the animus. There was the light-headedness, which was typical at this point, but this time it didn't go away, and his head felt as if it was in a vice. His head throbbed with a dull ache and it wouldn't go away. Looking over at the others, he could see that they were in a similar way. They both groaned in pain and clutched their heads.

"Good. So you're all feeling that?" Jason asked.

The three of them grunted a yes.

"Excellent. That is a good sign. No bleeding?" he asked.

"Not that we can see." Reported the other male Assassin.

"Perfect. The three of you get to training. Now!" Jason ordered.

All three of them protested but they dutifully obeyed. To their surprise, they found their abilities had significantly improved. Will's technique on the punching bags had developed and he could now get more force behind a punch. Shadow found that he could climb quicker and he could move in an even more agile manner. And Chad… well, he could take a few more direct hits to the face and his IQ dropped slightly. Overall, they were all taking on the traits of their ancestors very well. Chad and Will's side effects from Animus usage vanished not long after they began training again, but Tom's had refused to go away. His head pounded as he exercised, with no sign of easing up. It stuck with him after half an hour, then an hour, then one and a half hour. It refused to go away. He was about to tell Jason when Jason called to the three of them, ordering a training fight between Tom and Will first. The rules of the fight were simple. No breaks. No gloves. No headwear. Kicks and grappling were allowed but no biting. This was a real fight. Drawing blood could be a distinct possibility. The two entered the ring and Jason ordered the fight to commence.

The first few minutes were virtually standard, with both of them fighting in their standard techniques: Will came in, guns blazing, while Tom circled cautiously around, ducking and diving out the way, slowly wearing Will out with each missed blow. Then about three minutes into the fight, everything changed. Will waded in with another flurry of blows, which Tom dodged with ease, ducking under the last hook and manoeuvring himself behind Will. Then his head started ringing and his eyesight started to tremble, distorting what he could see. He placed a hand on his head, unsure of what was happening as he glanced at an incoming blow from Will. He threw himself desperately to the left as he felt the fist glide just shy of his ear. He quickly got back to his feet and shifted back, away from his opponent, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. It did not work and much to his terror, he saw a horse and carriage charge towards him and he rolled frantically away from it, before a man wearing a colonial redcoat outfit leapt on top of him. The man tried to force his bayonet into Tom's throat but Tom held his arms back. Raising his legs to place his feet on the redcoat's chest, he pushed away with all his strength, sending his unknown assailant toppling backwards. Pushing his advantage, he leapt on top of the redcoat, reversing the positions and he flicked his wrist to engage his hidden blade and plunged it into the neck of the mystery redcoat, bloodlust in his eyes.

"ENOUGH!" yelled Jason, his voice strong and powerful.

Tom seemed to remember himself again and looked down at the terrified Will beneath him. The redcoat had vanished and placed Will in his stead. Looking at his wrist, he thanked the spirits that the Assassins hadn't saw fit to give him a hidden blade yet. He suddenly felt confused and disorientated as he no longer understood what was going on. What had just happened? He got off Will as Jason entered the ring and Chad stared at him in awe. Jason took Tom no-too-gently to one side and spoke to him in a firm but caring voice.

"What happened? What did you see?"

* * *

Chad was amazed at what he saw. The fight was going as he expected it, with Will trying to use his brute strength to end the fight quickly, with Tom evading every blow, trying to extend the fight and wear Will down so he had a better chance of his attacks affecting him. Then Tom suddenly stopped dancing around the ring. He stood still, and clutched his head, as if a sudden headache had claimed him. As Will recovered and launched another blow aimed at Tom's head, Tom only just managed to get out of the way in time. Falling swiftly back into a corner, he appeared to shake his head before gasping in fear. Will was on the other side of the ring when Tom randomly leapt and rolled, seeming to dodge something. Something no one else saw. As Tom was on the ground, Will pressed the advantage, jumped astride Tom, and tried to force his fist into his face. Tom held him back by the arms, furiously defending himself, raising his legs up to Will's chest, before pushing hard with his legs, sending a surprised Will toppling backwards. Tom dived on top of him, the positions now reversed as he raised his hand and flicked his wrist before bringing it down to Will's neck. There was a thirst for blood in Tom's eyes when he did this. This was not the shy kid who panicked at the sight of blood. It was as if Tom were possessed. And it was if he were trying to kill Will with one of the Assassins' hidden blades.

* * *

"ENOUGH!" Jason yelled and Tom looked up, snapping out of his trance-like state and seemingly confused. Jason climbed athletically into the ring and took Tom to one side.

"What happened? What did you see?" Jason asked, firm but caring.

"I… I… I don't know…" Tom trembled. "I was fighting Will, then I suddenly went light-headed and I didn't see his punch coming until the last minute…"

"Yes? And then?" Jason asked quickly, eager for more information. A confused look crossed Tom's face.

"And then… I saw a horse and carriage… charging right at me… I know it sounds crazy but it looked so real…"

"Yeah…?"

"So I rolled out the way out of it… next thing I know, there's a redcoat jumping on top of me, pinning me down and trying to impale me with his bayonet!"

Chad chuckled, acting as if Tom just said an innuendo. One sharp stare from Jason shut him up.

"Go on…" Jason said.

"Well, I kicked him off me and jumped on him, engaged my hidden blade and stabbed his throat." Tom rubbed his wrist idly, noting that he has never worn a hidden blade.

"Interesting…" Jason pondered, rubbing his chin in thought.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Chad asked. "Why is he seeing things?!"

"It's the same thing that's caused you all to pick up the traits of your ancestors. Prolonged exposure to the Animus causes a phenomenon known as the 'Bleeding Effect.' Side effects include seeing the memories of your ancestors even when not in the Animus. Your brain is the only thing from keeping their memories and yours smashing together into one big, gooey mess." Jason explained.

Will shivered at the thought.

"So… we'll all start seeing shit?" Chad asked.

"Not exactly. It's possible, but not a certainty. You might get the occasional vision of the past, but I wouldn't expect it to affect either of you as badly as it seems to affect Tom."

"Why the fuck is this happening?" Tom asked, desperate for a straight answer.

"All the ancestors in your head are all coming together, and your brain is struggling to remember which one is you. These phases will come and go, but they should be over pretty quickly."

"So I'm stuck like this?"

"Basically, yes. Sorry…" Jason shrugged apologetically.

"Its… fine. I'll get used to it, I guess." Tom replied, understanding.

"On the bright side, it should improve your training."

"That's something, I suppose…"

* * *

The three trainee Assassins continued to train as Jason and the other two Assassins supervised, paying extra attention to Tom, who was now at risk of succumbing to the Bleeding Effect. He occasionally had to shake his head to clear the visions that swamped him, but other than that, he had no more serious problems. He was now picking up stealth skills at a highly improved as well, a fact that made Jason smile with glee. 'The plan could work' he thought. 'The plan _was_ working' he corrected himself."

* * *

"Brother Jason!" The female Assassin rushed into the warehouse, then into the kitchen, doubling over and panting desperately for breath.

"Take it easy." Jason replied, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Slow down, just breathe. Now, what news do you bring?"

"The Assassin-hunter Otso Berg is here. The Templars have also increased their presence here massively. I think they know we're here."

"Hmm…" Jason pondered. "Its possible… unlikely, but possible. The Templars are very crafty, especially that Otso Berg. He has killed many of our brothers and sisters during his time as a Templar, and to think he started out as nothing more than a simple enforcer…"

"What should we do?" The male Assassin asked from his position perched up on top of a cupboard.

"He does not know that we know he is here, which makes him vulnerable. This could be an opportunity to remove a big threat to all Assassins. We may not get another chance like this again." Jason thought aloud.

"But we can't get close enough to kill him… not with just three of us!" The female Assassin replied.

"But we don't have three Assassins." Jason grinned. "We have six."

"The recruits? You can't be serious!" The woman said, aghast. "Your putting them at risk!"

"Not to mention putting us at risk having to babysit them!" the male Assassin added, jumping down from his perch.

"Have some faith in them." Jason said calmly. "Just look at their ancestors. Assassination is in their blood."

* * *

The next week's training was especially punishing. Even Will was struggling to keep up with the physical demands of the gruelling and rigorous training regime. The only person who seemed to be coping was Tom. It was as if his recent experiences with the Bleeding Effect had changed him somehow. He seemed more confident and had a much more solid mental resolve. His strength and agility had seemed to double, making him even more nimble than before. The only downside was that the semi-constant visions could sometimes overwhelm him and he would temporarily lose his balance until the visions passed. And as luck would have it, it was almost always at the most awkward moments, such as when he was boxing or Jason was running exercise with them again. But despite everything, he still managed and didn't let it faze him too much. He was still out-performing the other two.

"What's with the recent increase in training?" Will once grunted during the week, sweat pouring down from his face from a solid four hours on the rowing machine.

"I might have a special operation coming up and I want to see if you guys are as good in practise as you are in here. But I won't say anything more for now."

And he stayed true to his statement and didn't say another word on the matter, despite Chad's constant desperate pleas. However he did approach Tom during the middle of the night when everyone else had gone to sleep, and asked him to follow him. The pair walked out of the warehouse into the chilly night outside. The sky was a deep purple, not yet the harsh black of the dead of night, with the moon hanging majestically in the middle, full and beaming. Dry leaves scraped against the ground as the light wind carried them and threw them around, tossing and turning. Owls hooted their night-time songs and the occasional car horn from the hustle and bustle of the city punctuated the natural orchestra. The night was cold yet calm. It seemed… serene. Tom pulled the hoodie closer around him to keep the icy breeze from making its chilly way to his bones. Jason strolled uncaring for the chill, stoic against the breeze, his hair flowing smoothly. He turned and saw Tom fighting the cold and laughed a mighty, hearty laugh which boomed in the night.

"Come," he said, "Let us run to get your blood flowing."

And with that, he dashed away towards a high brick wall of another warehouse in the industrial complex. He felt the impact of each foot hitting the ground through his shoes. He felt the air running through his hair as he picked up speed. As he met the wall, he felt his hands slide over the rough bricks of the building as his feet pushed him higher with a single big push from the wall. For the first time in a very long time, he felt truly alive. His fingertips met the ledge at the peak of his wall run and he swiftly hefted his own bodyweight upwards using every muscle in his body and vaulted onto the rooftop of the storage shed he had scaled. He laughed and looked back to their warehouse, expecting to see Tom charging desperately after him, but he saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. The leaves had stopped moving and scraping. The owls had stopped hooting. The breeze had stopped blowing. The night was still. Instantly on his guard, Jason flexed his wrist and his hidden blade sprung from its holdings from his gauntlet.

"You know," a voice called from behind him. "You really shouldn't challenge someone who practically spent most of his life free-running to a race. You will lose."

Jason spun around and saw Tom sat up on the much higher roof of the warehouse, looking down at him, his legs swinging idly over the ledge.

"How did you-?" Jason started.

"Get up here?" Tom finished, grinning. "Practise."

Jason returned the grin and burst out laughing. Tom began to chuckle too, and before long, both of them were in a fit of laughter.

"You should know…" Jason struggled to say through the laughter, "it has been a very long time indeed since I laughed this hard."

"That makes two of us!" Tom smiled.

"Come on then!" Jason yelled up to him before he started to run again. Tom swiftly followed from the higher rooftop above him.

* * *

The two of them ran for nearly an hour, making their way deep into the city, no obstacle proving too much for them to handle. They eventually found themselves atop a large apartment building and they made their way down an old, rusting fire escape. Each made their way down using a different route. Jason vaulted the stairs and railing, taking the safer, yet still risky route down while Tom vaulted the railing and made his way down the outside of the fire escape, the quicker but riskier way down. The both arrived at the first floor of the fire escape at the same time, but before Tom could leap down to the ground, Jason stopped him and gestured for him to be silent. Below them was a dark alley, lit only by a bright burning fire in an oil drum. Dark figures moved in the darkness below.

"Brothers and sisters… time grows short." Came a voice from below, its deep accent thick. He sounded Finnish. "The Assassins are here and they have obtained three very important assets of ours. Assets we cannot allow them to have. I have given each of you a dossier on the three assets. They must not die. You are to locate them so we can reacquire them. Anyone who gets in our way must die."

As Tom leaned on the railing in an effort to better here the voice below, the old fire escape showed its age. Several sections of the railing that had rusted heavily crumbled away and the railing came free. Thankfully, the voice covered the sound of the snapping railing and the remains dropped straight into a full dumpster, silencing the drop. Tom, having leant on the railing fell with it, only to be caught by Jason by mere fingertips. Jason held Tom in place by his forearm, cautious to haul him up because of the possibility of someone below noticing the movement and looking up, revealing their position. Refusing to move, they both listened intently to the voice.

"You all know what you must do. May the Father of Understanding guide us." It said.

"May the Father of Understanding guide us." The others echoed.

Jason pulled Tom up from his precarious position and they watched the figures fade into the darkness, disappearing completely from sight.

"Who's was that voice?" Tom asked.

"That? That was Otso Berg. He is a known Assassin-killer and leader of Sigma Team, an Abstergo task force, the deadliest they have. And he is looking for you and the other two. This is bad. We have to move. And tonight. Quickly, we have to get back to the hideout. That operation I mentioned earlier in the week has just been moved forwards. We have to find him before he finds us."

"What do you mean?" Tom asked, confused.

"Follow me. I will explain everything on the way."


	9. Descent into Madness

**Chapter 9 - Descent into Madness**

"Wait, so this Otso Berg guy has killed tonnes of skilled veteran Assassins, but you expect that you can kill him when half of your team are only recruits?!"

"Don't sell yourself short. You are more than capable of defending yourself."

"Against a guy who has killed people who have spent all of their lifetimes honing their skills?! No matter how naturally gifted we are, we can't match that! And I can't even kill anyone. I panic!"

"Tom!" Jason said, placing a reassuring hand on Tom's shoulder. "Have a little faith in yourself. You might not have a killer's instincts, but Shadow does."

"What? The guy who died hundreds of years ago?" Tom asked, confused.

"Yes. Have you not noticed? Slowly you have been picking up the traits and habits of Shadow. You see him through the Bleeding Effect and you have learned to mimic his skills. You are becoming Shadow. He lives on through you."

"I'm not so confident…"

"Well I am. Come on. We have to get back to the warehouse."

* * *

"Where have you two been?" The male Assassin asked as he leaned against the heavy metal doors of the warehouse entrance as Tom and Jason ran over to them. Inside, the female Assassin, Chad and Will were all sat cross-legged in the boxing ring, chatting amongst each other. Chad repeatedly yawned and rubbed sleep from his eyes as he fought the urge to go back to sleep. It was the early hours of the morning and the sun had begun to shine over the city's skyline, brightening up the sky above. As Jason and Tom ran over to the warehouse, they panted for breath. They had used all of their energy and all of their free-running skills to get back as fast as possible.

"Do not forget your place." Jason warned the man, but softened the stern warning with a warm smile. "We were out training Tom's free-running abilities in a more open environment."

"We were worried sick! We thought something had happened to you!"

"I assure you, nothing has happened, but something will if we don't act quickly." Said Jason, suddenly going serious, his smile fading rapidly.

The female saw the seriousness in Jason and vaulted the ring ropes and jogging over to them.

"What happened?" she asked, as Chad and Will stood and listened intently, leaning on the ring ropes.

"I have confirmed your report myself. Otso Berg is here. So is all of Sigma team. I have already informed Tom of the plan because we need to move quickly and act now. Time is short." Jason answered.

The male and the female Assassin nodded in acknowledgement and agreement.

"Do you think they're ready?" The male asked.

"One of them, yes. But not the other two. Not yet, but we don't have much choice. Fetch them some hidden blades. They will need them."

The female placed a fist over her heart and bowed in respect, much like the Assassins of the renaissance, before running off into a storage room that had been locked up until now. She engaged her hidden blade and used it as a key to unlock the door before pushing her way inside. She was in there for several moments before she emerged once more carrying a small wooden box, around shoulder-width wide. She walked over to Jason and the three trainees gathered around her. She turned to face them and opened the box. Inside were three hidden blades. But these were not like the old hidden blades attached to a bracer. These had no bracer and seemed to be the blade and mechanism only. The only thing to connect the blade to the wrist was two leather straps. Overall, the design was very minimalist, but it was certainly easy to hide up a long sleeve. Each of the three trainees took a blade each and tightened the leather straps to fit the blade snuggly against their forearms. Will and Chad attached it to their right-hand wrist but Tom attached it to his left-hand wrist. This placed the blade under each of their dominant hands. As each took a blade, the male and female Assassins both bowed their heads and Jason spoke in a loud voice that carried across the warehouse.

"Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine." He said. "The wisdom of our creed is revealed through these words. We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins. Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."

"Nothing is true." The male and female Assassins echoed. "Everything is permitted."

Will and Chad looked at each other excitedly, faces full of glee. They were full Assassins at last! Tom looked down at his new blade with fierce determination. He flicked his wrist and the blade slid free of its holdings, jumping out from under his wrist and staying there, ready to kill. It shined with a lethal glow, the metal cold and unforgiving. He flexed his wrist again and the blade slid back to its safe state. He was an Assassin now. He knew he had to kill now, but he pushed all his doubts and fears aside. He knew what he had to do. Shadow was ready to kill.

* * *

Otso Berg made his way casually out of the café, sipping his coffee and relishing the warmth it spread through his body. It had been an entire day since he had met with the informants around an oil-drum fire, and so far no-one had anything of note to report. The glow from the café did not extend far outside, the night being too deep to let the light penertrate. His aide, Agent Violet da Costa, stood leaning against a lamppost, hands in her pockets, waiting for him.

"Let's get moving." He said to her.

She looked up at the sound of his voice and stormed to his side.

"You got coffee? The Assassins are taking valuable assets down their rabbit hole and you stopped to get coffee?!" She exclaimed.

"It is a cold night tonight, da Costa." He said, calmly. "It'd be beneficial to stay warm and to stay alert. Don't rush into things. Plan for the long term. We may not find them tonight. Or maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not even this week. But we will find them, I assure you."

"All due respect, sir, I hardly think now is the time for coffee breaks."

"We have plenty of time. Don't worry." He said. He touched a headset on his right ear, activating it. "Sigma team. On me."

The headset buzzed in silent acknowledgement. Sigma team had got the message. All around him, figures moved around, shrouded by the darkness. Otso Berg and Violet da Costa strolled calmly down the street, admiring the sleeping city.

* * *

Chad stalked stealthily along a ledge of a large office building, observing the streets below as he made his way along. He stopped as he saw someone below and squinted his eyes in an effort to better see who it was. It appeared to be a man and a woman taking a nice night-time stroll through the city, but he called it in all the same. He pulled the walkie-talkie from his trouser pocket and clicked the red button, activating it.

"I think I have eyes on. Can someone confirm?" he whispered.

He was greeted by static for several seconds before the male Assassin's voice popped up on the walkie-talkie in reply.

"Copy that. Get your drone up. I'm already linked to the camera, just get it close and I'll confirm. Just watch your flying, I don't want us to be detected just yet."

Chad shrugged his jet-black backpack from his shoulders and rummaged inside until he found the small drone that he sought. He pulled it free and activated the remote control he had also stashed in his bag. He tossed the drone up into the air and used the remote to hold it in position hovering in front of him. He radioed the male Assassin again and it was not long before the Assassin radioed back, confirming that he had viable picture. Chad flew the drone calmly down towards the couple, staying slow and high to avoid detection. When he was only a few feet away, the walkie-talkie burst into life again as the male Assassin exclaimed with glee.

"Positive hit! Confirmed ID! That's Otso Berg down there, and his accomplice Violet da Costa is next to him! This is brilliant news! We can take out both at once!"

"Calm yourself!" Jason ordered over the walkie-talkie. "This is indeed a rare opportunity. Ready yourselves! Let's do this!"

"Sir, drone spotted above your position." Whispered a voice in his ear.

Otso Berg had to try hard to avoid grinning.

"Go! Go! Go!" Jason ordered.

The male and female Assassin, along with himself, dropped down in front of Otso Berg and Violet, cutting off their path forwards. The three trainees dropped down behind them cutting off their escape. Everyone engaged their hidden blades and Jason pulled a handgun out of his holster, levelling it at Otso's head.

"Your reign of fear over the Assassins is over Mr. Berg!" He bellowed.

Violet deftly pulled out a handgun from behind her and aimed it at Jason. Otso Berg just laughed, not even trying to reach for a weapon. His laugh through them all off-guard. They had no idea how he would have reacted, but this was not one of the possibilities they had considered.

"Too easy." He said calmly, sipping more of his coffee.

"On your knees." Came a voice behind Jason. All around them, emerging from the surrounding darkness was a strike force of armed men. Sigma team.

"Get on your knees!" One of them repeated, pushing the barrel of his gun into Chad's back.

Chad could not resist saying "I'm not your mother last night!" and he got a savage strike with the stock of the gun on the back of his head for his trouble.

The Assassins all placed their hands slowly on the back of their heads in surrender and Jason dropped the pistol on the floor, kicking it toward Otso Berg before doing the same with his hand. All of them dropped to their knees. Otso Berg picked up Jason's pistol and examined it casually, taking another sip of coffee as he did so.

"Cuff them all." He said. "And watch their right arms. That's their blade hands."

Jason quickly looked up at Tom and he nodded back in acknowledgement. Sigma team grabbed the Assassins' right wrists and forced them up along their backs, disabling their blade hands. They then set to work removing the hidden blades to remove most of the danger that came with Assassins. But as one of them pulled down the long sleeve of Tom's hoodie on his right arm, he was surprised to find no hidden blade in sight.

"What the f- AH!" he shrieked as Tom stomped backwards, onto his heel. Tom then swung around and went to punch the man with his right fist. The Abstergo elite soldier, expecting a hidden blade flying towards his throat blocked the blow with his own forearm, then he saw the blade engage on Tom's left arm and that came hurtling towards him. He ducked out of the way but could do nothing to resist when Tom took his legs out from under him in one swift movement. Tom jumped astride him and force the hidden blade under the man's armpit, piercing straight into his heart. Tom slid the blade free from its sheath inside the unfortunate man and stood defiantly with a fierce fire burning in his eyes. The same fire from when he tried to kill Will when he first felt the full effects of the Bleeding Effect. The same fire as when he allowed his inner Shadow to take over when he received his hidden blade. He wasn't Tom anymore, he was something else. SomeONE else.

Using the shock of Sigma team to his advantage, Jason pulled the man who had handcuffed him over his shoulder in a judo throw and held the handcuffs tight across his throat.

"Cover up!" Chad yelled, sounding as though his mouth was full.

He smiled as a full apple emerged to be filling his mouth. Jason twisted so that he faced away from Chad using the man as a shield. Then a bright light flashed from Chad's direction as the flashbang apple went off. Sigma team, along with Otso Berg and Agent da Costa, staggered around as the flashbang blinded them temporarily. The Assassins seized the opportunity to flee while they had the chance and they all ran down the street, the way Otso Berg had come. Being the first to recover, Otso Berg fired Jason's handgun one-handed down the street towards the fleeing Assassins. A lucky shot hit the female Assassin through the midsection and she crashed down to the ground as she ran. Otso grinned as he saw her collapse, his victory made complete when the male Assassin, seeing his teammate fall, turned back and ran to help her. He scooped her in his arms and took off, trying to catch up with the others. But before he could reach them, two Abstergo patrol cars skidded to a halt, cutting him off at an intersection and forcing him to take another path. He dashed around a corner down a dark alleyway and hid behind a dumpster. He looked down at his long-term partner and secret love in his arms. He may have acted tough, but he did have a soft side, and she was right at the centre of it.

"M… Michael…" she rasped, blood running in a fine line down her chin.

"Shh… Quiet. You'll be alright, I'll get you out of here. Just hold on!" he replied, tears threatening to escape his eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his hand before they showed themselves.

"You and I… we both know… I won't get out of this one…"

"Don't talk like that! You're gonna be fine!"

She placed a soft, gentle hand on his cheeks, caressing it tenderly as tears began to form in his eyes and run down his cheeks.

"I know, Michael… I know that you loved me…"

"Loved? I still do! I love you, Jane!"

She smiled sweetly. "I know..." She pulled him in for a deep kiss. He kissed her back but he felt her fade. She started to go limp in his arms.

"Stay with me Jane. Stay with me!"

"I'll always be with you… in here…" she whispered, placing a delicate finger over his heart.

Tears ran in rivers down his cheeks now. He took her hand in his own and held it to his face. She smiled again as her eyelids started to slide down to cover her eyes and she went limp. She died in his arms. He screamed and cursed, a dark thirst for vengeance rising within him.

She was still in his arms when he felt a gun being pressed against his temple. He breathed deep, hateful breaths as Otso Berg pushed the gun harder against his head. Michael screamed in rage as Otso pulled the trigger, smearing his brain matter along the alley wall. His body slumped over the dead female Assassin.

"Touching." Otso said, more to himself than anything. "After them. Do not allow them to escape." He ordered to Sigma team.

* * *

"Keep running!" Jason yelled to the other retreating Assassins. Jane had been shot and Michael had been cut off from them when he tried to rescue her. It was just Jason and the trainees now. He hoped Michael and Jane would be alright. He shook his doubt aside. They were capable warriors. They would be fine, he was sure. He looked back and saw Tom beginning to stagger and fall behind the group. Tom shook his head and placed his hands in front of him, as if he was making his way blindly down the street. He had slowed to a walk now and was holding his head, seemingly in pain. Against his better judgement, Jason ran back to help him along.

"Not now… Not now!" Tom whispered to himself as visions swamped him again. Firing muskets and charging horses flew all around him. Now was the worst time for the Bleeding Effect to take over him. He felt the separation between himself and Shadow in his brain melt away and the barrier of time collapse. He felt himself fade away.

"Tom!" a voice yelled, distant.

He saw a blurry figure run over to him. Why had everything gone blurry? The figure came close and grabbed him by the arms and shook him, as if trying to wake him. The figure came in and out of focus and appeared to start swaying. He recognised the face. Was it Jason? At first it was but then… it wasn't. He recognised that face. With a shock, he realised who it was. There, in front of him, shaking him violently, was the cold, grim face of Shadow. Tom dropped to the ground, unconscious.


	10. The Animus Safe Mode

**Chapter 10 - The Animus Safe Mode**

ANIMUS 2.03

LOADING FIRMWARE

***WARNING: MEMORY SYSTEMS CRITICAL***

***WARNING: ANCESTOR PARTITIONS CRITICAL***

MONITORING SYSTEMS OFFLINE

WHITEROOM OFFLINE

ANCESTOR SYNC OFFLINE

LOADING SAFE MODE

* * *

"Where the hell am I?" Tom asked no-one.

All around him was just empty space. A void. Looking down, Tom realised that he himself didn't even have a physical form. Then there was a bright light. White as a star in the dark night sky and as bright as one too, it glowed and spread its brilliance through the darkness. The light spread and shapes began to appear. First a beach, the pale orange sands materialising from nothing. Then there was sound. The gentle lapping of the waves against the beach as water was created from the nothingness. Small tufts of dried grass sprouted from amongst the sand and enormous blocks of an unknown material formed and hung in the air, taunting gravity. The material was a dark grey, like rock, but rock would never behave in such a way. Finally, Tom himself took shape and stood on the beach, looking exactly as he did when he lost consciousness and came here… wherever here is…

"What is this place?" he said to the empty vastness before him. No-one answered.

"Hello?" he called out. Still, nothing. He was alone, wherever he was.

He tried to think back to the moments before he came here. He remembered they were trying to assassinate a notable Templar, but it was a trap and they were ambushed. They fled and Chad, Jason and Will managed to get away, but Jae was shot and Horatio turned back to save her. No, that wasn't it. It wasn't Jae and Horatio. It was the two Assassins who had been training them. He was starting to get confused and his head suddenly started to ache. The dull ache in his head was disorientating and he had to sit down for a moment. Clutching his head, he sat gently down on a nearby rock and tried to make sense of who he was and what had happened. Ahead of him were two giant pillars of the strange rock-like material, towering many feet above him, with a single pillar lying across the gap at the top, forming an arch. As Tom observed the monument, he felt himself being drawn to it, as if it was drawing him in. As if it was calling to him. He stood and approached the gate, edging nervously closer. As he got within several feet, it leapt to life, a strange light filled the space. The light reflected in an odd pattern, confusing the eyes. It was as if he was watching light being reflected through rippling water, but the water seemed solid somehow, but still flowing. Tom reached out timidly with one hand and touched the immense gateway. He felt its energy as his hand connected but he felt nothing else out of the ordinary. In fact, he felt a sense of normality with it. Gaining confidence, he pushed his hand against the light and felt it slide in with no resistance whatsoever. It was like he was pushing through air. But as he inched closer, distant sounds filled his ears. The sounds of battle and gunfire ringing in some far-off place. He could smell smoke from shots fired and burning wood. He heard the sound of bricks shifting under pressure and the ricochet of bullets hitting the bricks. He retracted his hand and took a step back, and the sounds and smells stopped. He walked around the monument and looked behind it, but there was nothing there. The beach continued on, stretching far towards the horizon. Tom walked back to the front of the gate and stared at it for several seconds. He breathed in, then out. Then in, then out. He started to hop from one foot to the other, both eager and nervous at once. Closing his eyes, he made the final acceptance and pushed all fears and doubts from his mind. Opening his eyes, he charged towards the shimmering gate and sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him. As he reached the portal, he leapt, flying through the air and into the portal.

* * *

The Assassin sailed through the air, catching a ledge by his bare fingertips. He swiftly pulled himself up and stood atop the chimneystack. He took a moment to catch his breath and observe his surroundings. The city of Boston was spread out before him, every dark alleyway and street offering a possible escape route to him. Most were only dimly lit by the small oil streetlights, breaking up the darkness of the sleeping city. The darkness of the night made it more difficult for many to free-run effectively, but not him. Years of experience flowed through his veins and within seconds, he had planned several routes and knew the skills he would have to use to traverse the routes. He ducked as more musket shots whizzed around him, striking the brickwork of the chimney. He looked behind him and saw the guards clambering over the rooftops, struggling to stay stable as the slim man marched ahead of them, surefooted.

He vaulted the chimney and slid down the steep roof on the other side, tiles falling loose and cascading down beside him as he went. Then he reached the ledge and he leapt from the roof as the tiles continued down before smashing on the cobblestone street below. He made it across the gap between roofs and hauled himself smoothly up. He charged across the roof and dropped down on the other side, catching an overhanging sign on the way down and swinging from it to shift his momentum down and forwards, lessening the impact of the ground. When he hit the ground, he bounced from his momentum and transferred it into a safety roll, dispelling the force and momentum of the drop and safely landing. He ducked quickly into the shadows created by an overhang and pressed himself against the wall. Above he heard clattering an a gasp of shock as more tiles fell and smashed into the ground.

"Easy!" A voice said, clearly supporting someone who nearly went over the edge.

"Sorry." Another voice replied. "I just couldn't see the edge in this bloody darkness!"

"It's alright. Just be more cautious. Look, can you see or hear anything? No. He didn't come this way. Let's double back. He might have ditched us some way back. Come on!"

With that came more clattering of tiles, growing distant and quiet before the night fell silent again. The Assassin breathed out a sigh of relief. He hadn't realised he had been holding his breath. The danger had past and the one he loved was safe. He pulled the mask from his face and straightened his dinner jacket. He rubbed his hand through the bandages where it had gotten sore. His bright green eyes burned with a fire within as he stared into the darkness. His eyes pierced the shadows themselves and he picked his way sneakily through the back alleys and rat-tunnels of the city before he reached the safety of his hideout. Inside, he lit a dim oil lamp to help him see. The light grew brighter and brighter and brighter before all he could see was a pure, white light filling his vision.

* * *

Tom woke up back on the beach, the sand cascading down his hair as he sat up.

"What was that?" he asked himself. Once more, he received no answer. "This place is getting weirder and weirder…"

Observing his surroundings, he found that nothing had changed from before he jumped into the portal. The waves still lapped against the beach, the tide seeming to not have shifted at all. The floating rocks still hung immobile in the air and the portal still stood tall, a monument to this strange place and all its mysteries.

"If I haven't already gone crazy, I definitely will if I stay here too long!" he told himself as he pondered what to try next.

* * *

"Is he going to be ok?" Chad asked, pale with worry for his friend.

"I… don't know…" Jason replied, worried as well. "I'd say he has a 50-50 chance of pulling through."

"50-50?!" Chad exclaimed furiously. He grabbed Jason by the collar and pulled him in close. "You're telling me that there is a 50% chance he'll be ok?!"

"I'm not sure!" Jason shrugged back, trying to avoid a fight. "This has only happened for two other people! One made it, the other didn't…"

"Well… is there anything we can do to help?" Chad asked, getting desperate now.

"Unfortunately not. All we can do is wait." Jason replied, grim-faced.

Will marched back into the warehouse, moonlight filtering in through the door as he opened it, temporarily illuminating the unconscious Tom as he lay plugged into the Animus.

"Still no sign of the other two." He reported gruffly.

"They'll be alright…" Jason responded without looking up from Tom.

"So is the pipsqueak still not up?" Will asked. Jason shook his head sadly. "Come on. We need to get moving. The Templars will find us soon if we stay here." Will said.

"We can't just leave him here! Maybe we can we load him into one of the vans and drive out of here?" Chad suggested.

"We don't have time!" Yelled Will.

"We'll make time!" Chad shot back.

"BOTH OF YOU, STOP!" Jason bellowed. Both of them immediately shut up. "We need him and he is in danger. We're going to help him out, I promise you, Chad. We'll load him in the back of one of the trucks and we can drive one each. Just follow me."

Chad nodded gratefully.

"What about someone in the back of your truck, with him inside?" Will asked. "Won't there need to be someone monitoring him?"

"Normally, yes." Jason stated. "But I switched off the Animus monitoring system to free up more space, allowing Tom to roam around more inside and find a way out."

Chad's eyes went wide with fear of what would happen to his friend if he did not find a way to escape the Animus before its memory ran out. Jason saw this and placed a reassuring hand on Chad's shoulder. The cobra tattoo twitched on his arm.

"He'll be alright Chad. He'll be alright."

* * *

For the fifth time, Tom found himself back on the beach. He had entered the portal another four times after his initial adventure as his ancestor inside the portal, only to find himself brought back to the beach every time. He had explored the beach several times but the portal was the only promising way he could go, so again and again and again he tried. He would spend some time reliving the memory of an ancestor, only to find the pure, white light filling his vision again and he woke up back on the beach.

"This is some inception type shit going on here." He commented to himself. He laughed at his own joke. It wasn't like anyone else was here to laugh with him. He was definitely started to go mad being here so alone. The gateway had become less of a gentle tugging in his mind to enter, and had become more of an urgent obsession. He felt himself being driven to enter it time and time again. He needed the portal. It was the only escape from his weak and wretched body. His only way to become something more. Something he could be. Something he would be.

* * *

"Ok! Everything is all set up. Are we ready to move?" Will yelled. Chad and Jason were staring at his laptop as data flowed along the screen.

"You're not going to believe this…" Jason said, shocked. "I can't see what's going on but I'm registering a lot of brain activity from inside the Animus. Whatever Tom's doing in there, he's trying to get out."

"Look Jason, I really don't care. It's nearly dawn, the other two are probably dead and the Templars will be here soon. We need to move. Now!" Will shouted, starting to get agitated.

Chad stood hastily up and clenched his fists at his sides, furious that Will was so heartless towards a friend. He made ready to storm forwards and hit Will, but Jason grabbed his wrist and shook his head slowly.

"He's not worth it." He told him. "Come on. Let's move. We should be at the next hideout by sunset. Just follow me. Radio me from the headset if you get separated and lost. I'll guide you back to us." He added, tapping the headset in his ear.

With that, the three Assassins got in the trucks and drove them out of the large warehouse doors into the light of the rising sun that framed the city perfectly. The journey was uneventful and they made good time, and just like Jason said, they reached the new hideout before sunset. Tom was still unconscious in the Animus when they arrived, but as Jason read what little data the Animus could give to him, he saw frequent spikes in brain activity. Then, Tom started twitching…


	11. The Warrior in the Dark

**Chapter 11 - The Warrior in the Dark**

"What's happening?!" yelled Chad in confusion and terror as his friend began to violently twitch and shake while unconscious in the Animus.

"I have honestly no idea…" Jason replied quietly, shocked, while slowly backing away.

"DO SOMETHING!" Chad screamed at him.

"I don't know… what to… do…" Jason stuttered in his shocked state.

"What's going on?" Will asked calmly, hopping down from the driver's seat of the van.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Chad and Jason shouted in unison.

Tom was now shaking so violently that he began to move the Animus with the strength of his movements and he had begun to froth at the mouth and his eyes were screwed shut tightly. None of them had seen anything like this before and none of them had any idea what to do. Then, as abruptly as it had started, it stopped. Tom lay still in the Animus, eyes screwed tightly closed, scarcely breathing. The froth at his mouth quickly bubbled away and the air around him was still. It was as silent as the grave.

"Tom?" Chad asked his unmoving friend nervously. He inched closer. Chad and Jason hung back.

"Chad… I wouldn't…" Jason started

"Tom…?" Chad asked again, moving even closer, ignoring Jason. He placed a gentle hand lightly on Tom's shoulder and softly shook him.

Tom's hand shot up and grabbed Chad by the wrist, stopping the shaking immediately. Chad tried to pull his hand away but Tom held him in an iron grip and Chad couldn't pry his hand free. Tom's eyes shot open and he sat up straight, as if returning from beyond the grave. He hopped off the Animus and released Chad's wrist before staring around blankly. Eventually, his eyes met Jason's and a sly smile crossed his face.

"Jason!" he said. "It had been a long time!"

Jason, Chad and Will all looked at him confused, especially when he swaggered over and embraced Jason in a warm hug. Then he looked at Chad and Will and looked at them confused too.

"Chad? Will?" he said, "You guys look different, but I'd recognise your faces anywhere!" He hugged them too. "Where are the others?"

"You mean Mike and Jane?" Jason questioned.

"Who? No, I mean Layla, Horatio and Jae. It's been a while since I've seen them."

"The people from the past?" Will asked.

"Past? What do you mean? Has something happened? Is Jae alright?!" He sounded panicked.

"Jae? She must have died hundreds of years ago now." Chad commented.

Tom stared at him for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

"Good one Chad. But seriously, how is she doing?" Tom chuckled.

"Tom, are you feeling ok?" Jason asked.

Tom stared blankly at him for several seconds before looking around, confused.

"Jason, are you… talking to me?"

"Duh." Will commented sarcastically.

"But… my name isn't Tom…?" The teen who looked like Tom replied.

"Then… who are you?" Chad asked.

Jason's face lit up as he realised what had happened. He understood now.

"Shadow." Jason and Shadow said together.

* * *

"Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up! THE Shadow?!" Chad asked, in a state of utter confusion.

"Yeah…?" Shadow replied, confusion crossing his face too.

"This is incredible…" Jason mused, "You've previously taken on the traits of Shadow, but now it seems the two sets of memories have collided and the two are now one… Though it seems he still carries some of the characteristics of Tom, for example his language and word usage, but most interestingly his outgoing manner… How interesting…"

"So… Shadow and Tom are the same person now?" Will asked.

"Not quite. It seems they are two separate personalities within Tom, but they have each taken on the traits of the other…"

Shadow watched the short exchange between the two of them with some interest. He had absolutely no idea what was going on, but it didn't hurt to listen and observe. The world seemed… different. He looked down as he clenched and unclenched his right hand. Very different…

"Wait a minute!" He yelled abruptly. "How do these things produce light with no flame?!" he said, gesturing at the lights in the room.

Jason sighed. He would have to get Shadow orientated and up to speed before he ran a few tests.

* * *

"So I've devised a little experiment to test a little theory of mine concerning you." Jason told Shadow. "First off, quick question: Can you confirm that you are, in fact, the Assassin known as Shadow?"

"Yes." Shadow stated obediently.

"Good. Now in a moment, I am going to turn off the lights and me, Will and Chad will each hold a burning candle in our hands. Your job is to take us out before we take you out. Can you do that?"

"With ease." Shadow boasted.

"How about blindfolded?" Jason asked, holding on out to him.

"Challenge accepted." Shadow smirked.

Shadow tied the blindfold tight over his eyes, making it impossible for him to see anything. The blindfold was thick and wrapped around his head many times, meaning that all he could see was utter darkness. The candles that Jason, Chad and Will were holding weren't so he could locate them better as he couldn't see, but more so they could see and could notice when he took one of them out, if he could. Jason pulled a switch and the lights in the building went out, leaving the feeble candles the only source of light in the room. As soon as Shadow heard the snap of the lights turning off, he grinned from ear to ear and leapt up, grabbing hold of a steel beam above him and clambering silently onto the space between the steel beams and the raised ceiling above. From there, he waited and listened…

* * *

The three Assassins stepped warily forwards in a line, each of them holding a dim candle out in from of them to let them see, the soft light barely illuminating their faces. Jason hoped that Tom's alternate personality of the legendary Shadow would perform as he expected and take out at least one of them before going down himself, but Chad and Will didn't expect him to stand a chance and were confident in their victory, but still remained wary all the same. Chad was the first to go down. He was suddenly and abruptly pulled backwards into the darkness with a gasp of surprise, his candle tossing and turning in the air as it fell until it hit the ground and went out. Seeing his friend taken down, Will rushed over to help his friend, but his candle barely illuminated the outstretched foot in his path and by the time he had noticed it he was already on a collision-course with the floor. His candle rolled away and the darkness swallowed him as he lay there, before a grunt of pain echoed in the dark and he went silent. Only Jason remained and he was now cautious as ever. Shadow had seamlessly taken out the other two and now he alone stood against the warrior in the dark. Thin beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and burned his eyes as he watched, vigilant, but he refused to close his eyes for even a second in case he was ambushed too. He walked in a constant circle, rotating so he looked all around him, never looking in the same direction for more than a second. For the first time since the Great Purge of Assassins, Jason had to admit that he was nervous. He had to breathe almost silently as he tried to calm himself. Shadow couldn't see, so effectively they were as blind as each other, but they could both hear. Shadow was a master of silence, so Jason knew he had to match his skill. Even the tiniest sound would give him away.

A single bead of sweat dropped from his chin and cascaded down towards the ground, splashing on impact with a barely audible sound, but it was enough. Jason stood stock-still for a single beat of his heart as the tiny splash echoed through the darkness, seeming to reverberate endlessly. The stillness of the dark exploded into action. Jason barely stepped back in time to avoid being caught under the weight of Shadow as he leapt down from above, landing exactly where Jason had been standing only a moment before. As Jason moved back, the flame fed off the oxygen and flared momentarily, revealing a slowly rising Shadow, blindfold tied tightly around his head. But after only a moment, the flame dimmed again and cast only a miniscule ball of light that Jason viewed as temporary safety. Somewhere in the darkness surrounding him, was the warrior that sought him. He had no room for error.

But Jason had one more trick up his sleeve. He blindly made his way over to the far wall and felt his way down it until his fingertips brushed against his objective: the heavy-duty light switch. He yanked the switch down and all the lights above them jumped to life. It took several vital seconds for his eyes to adjust but as soon as they did, he had a crucial advantage over Shadow. He scanned around, looking in every direction for any hint of movement. He had expected the sudden light to surprise and startle Shadow into making a mistake, but he had vastly underestimated Shadow. Shadow was smart and expected some form of trick. That is why he had tied the blindfold around his head so many times and so tightly. He could see nothing. The light did not faze him. He knew by the sound of the switch the switch that the lights were now on.

Knowing that stealth would no longer be an option, Shadow dropped down from his hiding place, listening intently to the sounds of the building. He gritted his teeth as he realised that the dull hum of the lights clouding his senses, hoping that Jason would not capitalise on that aspect. His mouth soon twisted into a grin as he heard the creaking of the floorboards beneath Jason as he stalked forwards. Jason too abandoned stealth and charged forwards towards Shadow, his fists raised ready to strike. Shadow leaned back slightly and felt the air around Jason's fist brush past his face as the blow missed him by inches. Shadow raised his right knee, aiming to hit Jason's gut to wind him, but Jason saw the blow coming and easily vaulted over it. Silence followed as Shadow listened intently, trying to place where Jason now stood, ready to strike. He heard the hammering of someone running towards him at high speed behind him and he ducked as Jason went sailing over him. Jason rolled to his feet and brought up a high roundhouse kick aimed at Shadow's head. In response, Shadow brought up both his arms to block the blow with both of his forearms. He pushed back, reversing Jason's kick and leaving him vulnerable. Jason used the momentum of spinning in the opposite direction to hop up and deliver a flying roundhouse kick going the opposite way, but Shadow ducked under the kick and brought his legs around under him, taking Jason's legs out from below him as he landed, driving him to the ground. Shadow seized the opportunity to leap on top of Jason and force his arms above him, leaving him defenceless.

"Yield!" Jason yelled, defeated.

Shadow grinned and stood, removing the blindfold in the process. He held out a hand to Jason, which Jason took, and he helped him to his feet.

"Well fought." Jason admitted.

"It was good to brush up on my skills." Shadow smirked.

Chad and Will limped over to the two of them, Chad clutching his ribs and Will holding his leg.

"Shadow's back!" Jason told them, laughing. "And now that we have two legendary Assassins on our side, I think it's time for a bit of revenge… I must admit though, I underestimated you, Shadow. You did well."

Shadow nodded in gratitude.

"How are we going to get revenge?" Chad asked. "If Otso Berg's got any sense, he would have gone to ground by now, and we'd have a hell of a time tracking him down to get another shot at him."

"I know…" Jason said, "But we'll get another shot, in time. Right now, it is too risky and not worth taking the chance to try to end his life. For now, we'll focus on damaging Abstergo as a whole, and keep hitting them until we get another target of opportunity."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Will exclaimed.

They all looked on in shock and worry as Shadow suddenly collapsed to his knees.

"Shadow! You ok?" Jason asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm… fine…" Tom stated, rising. "Where are we? What happened?"

"Yet again you intrigue me…" Jason mused. "It seems that you two personalities clash, but each has no idea about what happened with the other… Very interesting… I think I need to run more tests!"


	12. The Legend of Shadow (Part 1)

**Chapter 12 - The Legend of Shadow (Part I)**

"You truly interest me, Shadow. I've done all the tests I can for now, but I'm hoping to get in touch with a few friends at a nearby university and put you in for an fMRI scan." Jason told Shadow as the two sat facing each other.

"A what?" Shadow asked, still confused.

"It's a device that scans your mind and shows us what parts of your brain are active during different situations."

"Sounds definitely Precursor…" Shadow mused. Jason face-palmed and shook his head.

"It's going to take so long to get him used to the modern world…" Chad sighed.

"Well, experience is a better teacher than you lot!" Shadow announced, "And there isn't any time like the present!"

He stood and walked over to his room, before emerging several minutes later wearing black boots, skinny-fit jeans, a black t-shirt and a red hoodie, with a sleeveless leather jacket over the top. He strolled calmly over to the door and the moment his hand touched the door handle, he heard Jason call out.

"And where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"Just outside. I need to know my surroundings better."

"Fine… But be careful and don't stay out too long!"

"Really, _mother_? Try and stop me!" He grinned. And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Shadow sat perched on the rooftop of a nearby building, scanning the new world around him. Everything seemed so alien to him. Carriages that moved without horses. People spoke into little boxes and the boxes spoke back. Buildings and metal constructs rose higher than even the grandest of cathedrals. Truly, the world was a different place. How long had he missed of the world changing? The world had moved on without him, and now he was playing catch-up. Somethings had not changed though. The cold, bitter wind bit into his skin as he fought desperately against the winter cold. Snow gently cascaded down from the heavens, landing as silently as it fell. The thrill of being so high up also amused him still. And if would seem that his skills in free-running had not suffered over time. He continued to scan the area, trying to adjust to the new surroundings, but he was not high enough. He looked around and in the distance, he spied a bright yellow crane towering above everything else in the area. All along its length, it was illuminated by bright lights that only increased in power as Shadow drew near. He leapt from building to building, from rooftop to rooftop, feeling the thrill of being free fill him once more.

As he ran, he pondered on his situation now. What had happened to him? Why had so much time passed? It felt impossible. It _should_ have been impossible! He clenched and unclenched his right hand as he ran, looking down at it as often as he could. Definitely impossible.

As he came closer to the towering crane, he noticed that there were no buildings near the crane, instead it was punctuated with building supplies and machines for construction. The only buildings were across a road or the short, squat foreman's cabin. Knowing what he must do, Shadow made his way around the construction site to the opposite side of the crane, which was still across a road that surrounded the entire site. He scaled the highest building on that side, before dashing across the length of the roof and jumping into the air.

More thrill fuelled him as he felt air rushing around him as he plummeted towards the ground for several seconds. Until, with outstretched fingers, he felt the cool steel of the crane bite into his fingers as he found his grip. Now attached, Shadow began the slowly laborious task of scaling the outside of the crane without the use of the ladder locked inside. He displayed his true free-running prowess as he scaled the structure within seconds, leaping up and up and up. As he stood there, proud, atop the illuminated crane, he finally saw the grand scale of this new, modern world that now greeted him. Building stretched upwards and reached for the sky and great structures of glass filled the skyline. It was most strange, but also so very beautiful at the same time. He stood for some time before he decided to move on. He looked over the edge of the crane, the height not fazing him. He glance over the landscape at the bottom of the crane until he found what he was looking for. He turned and walked slowly back across the length of the crane. He turned back again rapidly, running rapidly along the length once more before leaping off the edge, arms outstretched wide. Once again, he dove towards the ground with no fear, only excitement. He landed heavily into a pile of insulation and industrial bubble wrap. He leapt easily out of the soft cushioning he had chosen to land on. His listened intently to the new sounds of this modern city. Every crash, clatter and crunch sounded different now and he still felt disorientated. And he felt that that made him vulnerable. But as he listened, he heard one familiar sound. One sound that he had heard many times before. One sound that had not changed over the years he had been away. A grunt of pain.

* * *

He lay there on the ground as the three gang members brutally kicked and stomped on him without mercy. He curled up and tried to protect the majority of his body with his arms and legs, but still the blows rained down, injuring and winding him as he fought to stay conscious. Then suddenly, the blows stopped. He daren't move for a second, anticipating one final, powerful blow. Slowly, realising no more blows were coming for now, he cautiously peeked out from under his arm that was protecting the majority of his face. All three gang members stood over him, staring down at him. Menace and violence shining brightly in their eyes. They were enjoying this, the sick fucks. They were getting off on his pain. They were just soaking in the feeling of power that coursed through them. He knew that he was going to leave here with broken legs if he was lucky, he wouldn't leave at all if he was unlucky. It all depended on their mood. The one in the middle had a particularly large grin, especially when he raised his boot and lined it up with his battered face.

* * *

Then everything happened in a rapid blur of movement. The fire escape shook as something vaulted over the barrier. Something dropped for three levels before landing solidly on the back of the middle thug, dropping him to the ground, smacking his head on the asphalt. The thing, whatever it was, rolled smoothly off its first victim and within a blink, it was standing behind him and ready to fight. Whatever it was, it was not human. Before he could roll over to see it, it was already leaping over him and engaging the two remaining thugs. He was surprised to see that the thing was, in fact, nothing more than a teenager. He wore jeans, a red hoodie with the hood up, and a leather jacket on top with no sleeves. One thug threw a punch but the blow was deflected to the teen's right, his left hand knocking it aside. The teen brought his right leg up high, kicking the thug directly in his face, driving him backwards and down. A stomp to his face when he was on the ground confirmed his broken nose, and ensured he was unconscious. After seeing his two companions easily dispatched, the third thug was significantly more cautious. He pulled a small knife from his belt and tossed it menacingly from one hand to the other. The two slowly circled one another. As they circled, the injured man saw the teen's face: He was probably in his late teens, with pale skin and long brown (almost black) hair that flowed down and covered his right eye. The thug was wary and watched for any hint of his attacker about to engage. Meanwhile, the teen almost strolled around the circle, focused but at ease, clearly hinting that he had been trained beyond his years. In a sudden burst of movement, the thug lunged forwards with his blade, hoping for a quick end to the fight. He was careless. He put too much strength behind the attack and it was easy for the teen to grab his wrist and use his momentum to carry him forwards past the teen. The teen kicked savagely backwards into the back of the thug's leg and used all his weight to drive the thug backwards onto the ground, much like his accomplices. He punched down. Once. Twice. The man was unconscious on the floor as the teen slowly rose from his crouched position. The injured man laughed.

"You bloody, fucking idiot!" He coughed through the blood, holding a pistol to the back of the teen's head. "This is my gang's turf! I didn't need your help! But in thanks, I'll make this quick for you!"

Just before he could pull the trigger, the teen stomped behind him, extracting a yell of pain from the man. The teen spun swiftly and the gang member swore he saw a blade leap from within the sleeve of his hoodie, as it dragged its way across his throat. The man dropped his pistol and held both hands against his throat as he found he could no longer breath. Thick, hot blood seeped between his fingers as his life slipped out of him.

"Then I shall do the same for you…"

Those were the only words the teen spoke as the man collapsed and died, his blood ruining the pure snow around him, spreading like taint. Shadow had claimed his first life in just under 200 years, and it would certainly not be the last.

In that brief encounter, Shadow learned that some things had not changed with the seasons gone by. For one, gangs still terrorised neighbourhoods and the authorities did very little about. So Shadow knew that he had to take matters into his own hands once more. But he couldn't fight these criminals alone. He was going to need some help. He could ask the Assassins for assistance, but he knew Jason. Jason would be more focused on repairing the brotherhood than the plight of the people. Jason always was too focused on the closed brotherhood. Never empathetic. He must have had something happen to his family before the brotherhood. Now that Shadow though about it, he knew nothing about Jason's life before the brotherhood. No one did. Not even about his family, with the exception of Connor Kenway. Very strange…

For now, Shadow would have to work by himself for now, until he thought up a new plan. For the time being, he would just work by himself, make a name that would strike fear into the hearts of ruffians everywhere. Criminals would steer clear of where the Shadow prowled. And so every night for 3 weeks, Shadow would sneak out of the hideout in the dead of night and fight the crime of the city at sleep. And none of the Assassins knew a thing. They read the papers. They watched the news. They probably suspected. But they did not know for certain. Soon, half the city feared the teenager that beat up muggers, broke up crime rings, and took on entire gangs and won. But there were always two details that were always vague in his description: His face and his weapon. Many reported him to be unarmed, some swore he had a knife, but no-one suggested that he used the hidden blade of an Assassin.

* * *

It was weeks later, in another alleyway, in another gang's territory, and another beat-down was happening to another rival gang member. The others maliciously hit him on the ground, over and over and over again with a baseball bat, a plank of wood and a pair of brass knuckles. The poor man being hit was bludgeoned black and blue, his face nothing more than a lumpy mess as his face swelled in various places from the blows. Once more, the gang members were ignorant of the danger that the up-and-coming Shadow posed. He fell upon them and before they even realised he was there, they were all dead. The man who had been cowering in fear looked up through his swollen face at the teenager who stood there, surrounded by the three dead gang members, staring at him. Shadow turned and started to walk away when the battered man called after him.

"You! You're that vigilante! The one they call 'The Shadow!' You saved my life! Thank you!"

The teenager stopped in his tracks and looked side on at the man. He grunted and started to walk away again. The man stumbled and limped after him.

"Please! Let me help you! I want to join you and make this city a safer place!"

"I don't employ gang members into my ranks. You're lucky I'm letting you live." Shadow replied flatly, putting on his deepest and most menacing voice.

"Gang member? No! You have it all wrong! I'm no gangster! I just happened to walk through the wrong place at the wrong time!"

"Say I let you join me. How do I know you will not turn on me and put a knife in my back?"

"I… I've never used a weapon before… I was hoping you'd teach me…" The man admitted meekly.

Shadow pondered on this for a moment.

"You can't fight, that much is obvious…"

"So teach me so I can defend myself!"

"The training would be for the good of the city, not for your own benefit. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let me think about it. Meet me here tomorrow at noon. If I do not arrive within thirty minutes, assume you are not worth my time and that I will not be coming."

"But… I have a meeting tomorrow…"

"Tomorrow. Noon." Shadow repeated, before swiftly scaling a nearby fire escape, merging with the darkness of the night.

* * *

"And where have you been?" Jason questioned Shadow as he strolled back to the safe house. Jason was leaning against the door frame leading inside.

"I honestly don't know…" Tom replied sadly. "Shadow keeps taking over, and I find myself in the middle of nowhere. I don't even know what he's up to!"

"Ok… I trust you. Just hurry up and get inside. It's cold out here. More training tomorrow."

"Of course. Good night, Jason!" Shadow grinned as Jason fell for his deception.

"Do you believe him?" Will asked from the shadows.

"Not for a second." Jason replied. "Just what are you up to, Shadow?" He asked himself.

"Ah. Here's Chad now." Will exclaimed.

"Chad!" Jason called out. "How went the tail?"

"I lost him Jase. He's too good. He's too quick and he wears the shadows like cloak!" Chad panted.

"His name is unknown. We call him Shadow for a reason, you know!" Jason replied, stressed that Chad had failed in his task.

"I'm sorry, Jase…" Chad said regretfully.

"It's not your fault, Chad." Jason sighed. "He's way out of your league. He's beyond all of us, really. But tomorrow, I'll go with you. Will, you'll have to hold down the fort here. You'll be the only one defending this safe house. You'd have to call us if anything happens."

"Understood." Will replied.

"Good. Now come on. Let's all get some rest." Jason replied, opening the door into the safe house.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey guys! It's back! Apologies is being continued once more! If you enjoy this story or any other work I do, go on my profile and take part in the poll there and let me know what story you want to see most of. The winning story will get priority for me to continue writing! As always, please read and review! More reviews shows me that you enjoy the story and I'll definitely write more chapters. Or if you don't like my writing, let me know and I can try to improve based on your advice! See you all next time ;-)**


	13. The Legend of Shadow (Part 2)

**Chapter 13 - The Legend of Shadow (Part II)**

The next day, at noon, the man waited impatiently at the alley where he had been told to wait. Any longer than 30 minutes, and he was not worthy. He constantly glanced at his watch. He had missed the important meeting, for nothing. It was 12:32. He could probably consider himself out of a job and for nothing. Sighing with frustration, he stormed off down the alleyway, heading to the quiet street beyond. He was so pissed off. His face was already a swollen mess from the night, but it was improving rapidly all things considered. He was heavily built and chubby, more fat than muscle. He had spent most of his life behind a desk, rather than doing anything active and practical, and this showed on his body. As he approached the end of the alleyway, a figure caught the corner of his eyes. Suddenly on edge, he glanced quickly up at the rooftops. He saw the silhouette of a teenager sitting the edge, staring down at him, face hidden by a hood, the sun behind him reflecting brightly off the snow that coated the rooftop. He leapt down from the ledge and landed strongly on the ground between the man and the exit of the alley.

"Patience is a key value, my friend." The boy grinned.

"You're late." The man muttered, visibly irritated.

"Hardly. I have been here the whole time." The boy quipped, "I was testing you."

The man's face burned bright red in shame as he realised that he had probably failed the test.

"Tell me." The boy said, "Why should I train you to fight alongside me if I will have to teach and protect you for several months, and that you will often quickly become frustrated if things progress slowly?"

"Because I am dedicated. This city is sick, and you are the cure. I want to contribute any way I can."

"Alright then." The boy shrugged.

"Really?" The man said, off-guard that he had been accepted so easily.

"Yes. But one foot out of line, and you can consider yourself lucky to be alive."

The man gulped nervously, following the boy out of the alleyway and into the busy street.

* * *

"Where are we?" He asked, staring around the dark and gloomy room that they now stood in.

"Nowhere. That is the point." The boy replied flatly. "Now, fight me."

"W-what?!" The man snapped back, exasperated.

"Fight me." The boy repeated, dropping into his combat-ready stance. "Give it everything you've got, I need to see what you already know about hand-to-hand combat."

"O-ok…" The man stuttered, trying to match the boy's stance, but failing and standing uncertainly on his feet, fists shaking before him, while the boy remained as still as stone.

The man paced awkwardly forwards before launching an uncertain and slow punch at the boy. The boy, in his small frame, easily dodged to the left and grabbed the man's wrist, forcing him to keep moving forwards and past him, stumbling quickly.

"You missed." The boy stated venomously. "Again."

The man charged forwards and threw a more determined punch this time, though the boy dodged it as easily as before.

"Again."

The man threw his hardest punch now, eyes clenched tightly shut as he strained to make it as solid of a punch as he could manage, and to his surprise, he hit something. He had expected to feel nothing but the rush of air around his fist as his strike was dodged once more. But he felt his fist hit something hard. He opened his eyes and saw the boy crouched before him, his fist sandwiched between the boy's two open-palmed hands. This fist was inches from his face. The boy was grinning broadly for some unknown reason. He saw the boy's legs suddenly tense and before he knew it, the boy had launched himself forwards, leaning backwards to bring his legs up and around under the man's fist until it connected with his chin. As the man was catapulted backwards, the boy continued to spin backwards from the momentum and landed lithely on his feet after a successful backflip, while the man crashed onto the cold, hard floor on his back. The man rubbed his chin painfully as he slowly got to his feet.

"It was a good punch." The boy admitted, "but you should always keep your eyes open and on your opponent."

"You kicked me in the jaw!"

"And be thankful this is only sparring. Had this been a real fight, you'd already be dead. Now… again."

The man threw punch after punch after punch after punch. His blows were dodged, countered and deflected one after the other, with not a single lucky blow making it through the boy's concrete defence. He was left panting on his back on the cold floor, shirt stained with sweat in several places. After nearly an hour of sparring, he was exhausted. The boy, on the other hand, stood in his ready stance, as concrete as when they had started. The boy had not even broken a sweat and any passer-by would never have guessed that he had been training a man for nearly an hour. His breathing was light and easy, with no hint of tiredness in the steady rhythm of his breaths. His guard had not even dropped a millimetre. He was solid.

"Good. Take a moment to recover." The boy told the man, who greedily sucked in precious air in reply. He was not used to a workout, let alone one this intense. After several moments of rest and thirstily gulping down half a bottle of water, the man got groggily to his feet again. The boy raised an eyebrow at him.

"Want to go again? So soon?"

The man nodded, dark determination and eagerness to impress showing on his face.

"There is a fine line between bravery and foolishness, you know?" The boy smirked. "Again."

* * *

Nearly five weeks later and two figures prowled the night-time skyline of the sleeping city. One was confident and sure-footed. Every leap, vault and grasp was measured and calculated. Every move flowed smoothly and easily to the next. The other followed slightly behind. He was slower; less sure and there was almost no flow to his movements. Everything was slow and overthought. He had to think about every move he had to make, rather than the flow of the run coming naturally to him. He had an idea of how to navigate the rooftops and what techniques to execute, though he lacked the critical experience needed to be swift in doing so. These two figures were Shadow, and a new crime fighter who went by the alias Hephaestus. In the lore of the Greek Gods, Hephaestus was the god of blacksmiths and fire. He had big, powerful hands and could craft anything imaginable, most notably the great weapons of the gods of Olympus. In the real world, however, he was a powerfully built man, now with refined muscles from training with an Assassin. Although his movements were slow and mechanical and not smooth and flowing, he had a basic understanding of what he was doing and could navigate the city effectively. He wore black chinos and a brown leather jacket. A striped scarf of multiple dark colours was tied sloppily around his neck, ready to be pulled up to cover his face. His short, black and gelled hair waved slightly in the cold wind. He caught up to the now notorious Shadow, who was crouched on the edge of a rooftop and scanning the streets down below.

"You remember the targets?" Shadow asked, his voice unnaturally deep to hide his identity.

"I take out the seller and his bodyguard. You handle the gangster drug lord and his gang guarding this deal."

"Good. Remember you training. The first mission is always the hardest."

The man nodded solemnly. Shadow pulled the hood on his hoodie lower and raised the dark grey scarf to cover his lower face. His apprentice, codenamed Hephaestus did the same with his own scarf. With his leather jacket, he had no hood to pull up. The two figures swiftly made their way down to the streets below to stop the drug deal.

* * *

"So you want the goods? Then you had best pay up. I'm sure you've heard of what happens to people who try to cheat me?" The seller stated coldly at the gangster before him. The seller wore a sharp grey suit with a black tie. His black hair that was slowly going silver was slicked back and his cold grey eyes sparkled menacingly.

"Of course. Don't worry. I got what you want." The gang leader gestured to one of his gang members who dashed over to him holding a silver briefcase.

The gang leader was a strongly built character with buzz-cut hair and a stern face. He wore black trousers and a light blue shirt with the top two buttons undone. He fancied himself more of a businessman than a gangster, but in truth, his gang was looking on getting bigger and perhaps even rivalling the city's mafia for power, but they were still nothing more than a common street gang of thugs. The man carrying the briefcase stopped next to the leader and held the case out to him.

The gang leader opened the briefcase to reveal stacks upon stacks of hundred dollar bill notes. The seller smirked broadly at the sight.

"I'll be honest," he said. "I didn't think you savages could afford my merchandise. I am please you can."

"I'm sure you understand that I wish to verify the goods are legitimate before I hand over any amount of cash?"

"Of course." The seller smirked as a van reversed slowly around the corner of the wide alleyway. "Your sample is inside. The remainder is at the airport, waiting for a drop-off at a location of your choosing."

Snow tumbled down from specific sections of the rooftops aboveds, cascading onto the oil drums that burned brightly to illuminate the area. With the falling heaps of snow smothering and snuffing out the fires within, the area was plunged into darkness. The gang members were immediately on their guard and drew their pistols. The seller's bodyguard placed a hand on his pistol concealed within his chest holster. Everyone was on edge. Everyone stared at the roof. Rising from the shadows, a figure stood atop the now parked van, glaring down at the unsuspecting criminals below. The figure dived from the van and crashed down onto the seller's bodyguard, feet first. He let the momentum carry him off the bodyguard as he rolled forwards, leaping out of the roll to stand inches away from the seller. Time seemed to slow as they stared at each other. Snow stood idle in the sky as one pair of eyes burned with cold fire, ready to kill, while the other stared back in fear. The figure flicked his wrist and a blade jumped from the concealed sheathe within his sleeve. Time was still slow as the blade gently shimmered as it fully unveiled itself. Time was still slow as the blade hid itself once more, this time between the seller's third and fourth rib. Time was still slow as Hephaestus stared into the eyes of the first man he had ever killed. Then everything was a blur of speed. A second figure dropped down from the roof above. This figure was smaller and significantly faster than the first figure. He dropped behind a pair of thugs stood beside each other, snow crunching quietly beneath his feet. He stabbed the first in the back of his neck with his hidden blade while remaining crouched, the man instantly going rigid before dropping to the ground, dead, blood splatter infecting the pure whiteness of the snow. The second man turned around and received the other hidden blade in his gut, doubling him over. The figure grabbed his head and threw him across his partner, leaving him to bleed out. Another thug turned around and, seeing his fellow gang members face down in the snow, he fired blindly in the darkness above them. The flash from his shots firing briefly lit the area and a figure dressed in black could be seen leaping and diving out of the bullets' path. The man was knocked unconscious as a huge, meaty fist swung from behind him and took him down with a single blow. Hephaestus was a strong man, wrought of strength he never knew he possessed before he met the boy. More gangsters shot in their direction and Hephaestus ducked behind cover. Utilising the darkness in a way only Assassins can, they neutralised ever gang member present within only five minutes. The seller was dead and the buyer, a notorious gang leader, was lay face down, motionless. The two vigilantes approached the now abandoned van.

"Open the van." Shadow ordered his apprentice. "The police will be here soon and the seller said it was only a sample. We need to find a clue as to where he is keeping the rest of the drugs."

Hephaestus nodded and obediently pulled the van's rear doors open, nearly taking them off their hinges in the process. Inside the van were two pure white strip lights and a large crate, padlocked shut. Shadow and Hephaestus stepped inside the van.

"I don't suppose you have a crossbar?" Hephaestus asked, sighing.

Shadow looked up at him, eyebrow raised. With a single solid punch, he broke the lock on the padlock and it fell to the ground with a heavy clunk. Hephaestus was slightly taken aback. There was more to the kid than met the eye. Shadow was perplexed as he noticed the symbol of Abstergo Industries on the lid of the crate. Shadow opened the large crate and his eyes went wide. The crate was not filled with drugs as they had first thought. Inside the crate was something he never expected to see. Military-grade hardware. Guns, ammunition and enough equipment to arm a small army. The gang was ambitious but this was a dangerous play. Just by busting this deal, they had probably saved countless lives. But the seller's words haunted Shadow.

"Your sample is inside." The seller had said.

There was a lot more weapons out there, somewhere. Shadow and his apprentice still had work to do. They still had lives to save. They still had a city to heal. Blue and red lights flashed in the distance as the police closed in. Shadow grabbed a gun and he and his apprentice dashed off into the night.

* * *

"I need you to use your connections to find out where this weapon came from. And dig for clues for the whereabouts of the remaining weapons and equipment." Shadow instructed his apprentice as they perched on the rooftop, overlooking the alley as the police combed the area.

"I'll get right on it, sir. You're placing an awful lot of trust in me." Hephaestus mused.

"Because I trust you. You are not the same man who was being beaten in the alley. You have proved yourself worth to a vigilante alongside me. And perhaps, in time, you may know some secrets that I hold."

"This city is sick. For now, I'm contempt just to help save this city."

* * *

2 weeks later…

Crime was rife throughout the city. Criminals were now armed with military-grade hardware and a single gang had practically taken over the city over night. The other gangs couldn't defend against such determined attacks with such powerful equipment. They stood no chance. Other gangs were gunned down in droves until the miniscule amounts of survivors went into hiding, praying that they would not be found. The police forces were overwhelmed and outgunned. They too were powerless. Even Jason had considered leaving the city and moving on to the next safe house, but each and every time doubt entered his mind, Tom would convince him otherwise. He would tell Jason that they were on the outskirts of the city, that the gangs were mostly staying central. That they were hidden in an abandoned building that the gang had no need to bother raiding. But still, Jason had his doubts. Most concerning was that Tom knew more than what was broadcast on the news, and the mysterious hooded vigilante that stalked the streets at night did not escape Jason's attention either. But for now, he was powerless. Deep down he knew that Shadow was exactly what this city needed, even if he was long dead by now. But whether or not Shadow was dead, Tom certainly wasn't.

* * *

"Any luck tracking the source?" Shadow asked his apprentice.

"None, unfortunately. Just false leads and dead ends." Hephaestus replied to his mentor.

"This is most unfortunate. With the seller dead, I highly doubt that the gang will be getting fresh shipments of the weapons, but clearly what was at this airport was enough to arm them to take control over the entire city."

"Sir, I may not have had much luck tracking where the weapons came from, but since we killed the former leader of this gang, I have managed to discover who the new leader is. If we killed him, we could cut the head of the snake and end all this madness tonight."

"Absolutely not! This is not a mere snake, it is a hydra. You cut off one head and three more grow back in its place. To defeat this beast, we have to break its spirit. We have to destroy the morale of the gang and force them to fear us. Force them to surrender and flee." Shadow pondered. "See if you can find out where their weapon caches are. Destroying those will be the first step to reclaiming this city."

Hephaestus grinned broadly from ear to ear.

"One step ahead of you, sir. I already have a few of my contacts in the local police looking into it." He said, with an air of cockiness.

Shadow chuckled, placing his left hand on Hephaestus' shoulder. Hephaestus started to chuckle too when Shadow's expression went suddenly dark and he punched Hephaestus hard in the gut with his right fist. Hephaestus grunted and doubled over, and Shadow leaned in close, until his mouth was almost touching Hephaestus' ear.

"Let us get one thing straight. You will never be ahead of me, by any distance. And your contacts are being too slow. You have one week to report the location of the weapon caches. Otherwise, you will be on your own." He whispered sharply.

Without another word, Shadow rose and walked calmly away into the night. Hephaestus remained still for several moments, still winded. After catching his breath, he looked fearfully at the way his mentor had gone. Kid or not, there was something serious twisted with that boy.

* * *

Down the street, Shadow clenched and unclenched his right hand. 'These are strange times' he thought to himself.


End file.
